SARASOTA, Fla. (SNN) – If you have hit the roads of Sarasota anytime recently, you have probably noticed that there are a lot of people down here.
But, the population growth is not just affecting the traffic.
“I know last year there were some months we were averaging, say 1,400 new voters a month,” Supervisor of Elections Ron Turner said.
To handle all the people moving to the Suncoast, Turner announced an increase in the number of precincts and polling locations.
“We went from 99 precincts in the county to 103,” Turner said.
On top of the four added, eight were revised, which includes shifting people around with boundary line adjustments. All this, plus nine new polling locations.
The areas most affected include North Port, Lakewood Ranch, and Osprey.
“We’re throwing a lot of resources at this,” Turner said. “Machines, locations, people.”
Turner said the project took more than a year to complete, and with more than 320,000 registered voters in Sarasota County, it was much needed to ensure a smooth voting experience.
He added that this has not been done since 2012.
For people unsure if it affects them, they should know soon.
“We’ve mailed new voter information cards to the nearly 70,000 voters that were impacted,” Turner said.
It is important to know because the first round elections are right around the corner.
“We have an important presidential preference primary on March 19,” Turner said. “I would remind voters that that is a closed Republican primary only.”
That means people who are not registered Republicans cannot vote in it, unless they change their party affiliation by the Feb. 20 deadline.
Turner said a lot of the changes are in preparation for what he calls, ‘the Super Bowl of elections,’ otherwise known as the General Election in November. He hopes people can learn the flow ahead of time.
“Voter enthusiasm is great,” Turner said. “But we want to manage the lines.”
Register to vote: https://registertovoteflorida.gov/home
Update your information: https://www.sarasotavotes.gov/
Ways to vote: https://www.sarasotavotes.gov/ql3
Become a poll worker: https://www.sarasotavotes.gov/Poll-Workers/Join-our-Team
