With the presidential primary election March 17 in Duval County, Supervisor of Elections Mike Hogan says he's concerned about the spread of coronavirus and its potential impact on the community, election volunteers and employees and the voting process.
“We continue to monitor the virus impact from official sources and will be implementing the prudent measures as advised by public health officials,” Hogan said.
Sanitary wipes are provided at all early voting sites and will be available at precinct voting sites on Election Day.
“The wipes will be available to the public and our employees are to wipe down surfaces like pens and stylus and voting booths every hour or so,” Hogan said.
If any major changes to the voting process are implemented, that would be governed by Florida statutes and determined by Gov. Ron DeSantis.
To change the election process, such as extending voting hours, ordering polls to close or calling for an all-mail election, that would be under the jurisdiction of the governor's office, Hogan said.
“In addition, our office comes under the jurisdiction of the consolidated government of Jacksonville. We will adhere to any official orders from the mayor's office and/or the Duval County Health Department and the city's Emergency Operations Center,” Hogan said.
As of 10 a.m. March 12, 60,940 of the 629,282 registered voters in Duval County (9.68%) had cast ballots in the presidential primary election. Mail ballots were submitted by 30,246 voters; 30,623 electors had filled out their ballots at early voting sites; and voters submitted 71 provisional ballots.