by David Chapman
Staff Writer
Vote early because lines could be a tad longer than usual.
That’s part of the message being relayed by Supervisor of Elections Jerry Holland and his staff in anticipation of a hotly contested and eagerly anticipated presidential race this November – one that Holland believes will have a record 85 percent voter turnout.
“This year, we are trying to have a big push for early voting,” said Holland. “With the amount of people we believe will be voting (in the November election), save the gas and postage and skip the lines.”
Holland and his office are preparing for the August and November elections in numerous ways, both to garner voter trust in light of Florida’s recent history of voting problems and to alleviate some of the expected crowds.
Beginning with the fall elections, Duval County precincts will have an AutoMARK Voter Assist terminal that will aid voters with disabilities and create a ballot paper trail. The terminals replace the computerized Touch Screen machines, which recorded votes on memory cards that had to be uploaded – with no paper trail – following poll closing.
The new terminals comply with the Help America Vote Act and are Americans with Disabilities Act approved, which means voters with special needs will have greater accessibility.
“It’s the most crucial thing we’ve implemented,” said Holland. “Gov. Charlie Crist wanted the implementation of a paper trail and all counties by 2012 must eliminate the Touch Screen systems. Duval County is now ahead of that timeframe.”
Early voters will also see the new Ballot on Demand, a machine that prints out each ballot specific to the precinct when a voter arrives. With 1,200 different ballot styles — based on criteria such as precinct and party affiliation — it’s more efficient to print out each ballot after a voter swipes their driver’s license or a poll worker enters the information individually, said Holland. The Ballot on Demand system will only be available during the early voting period.
Another initiative that Holland hopes will further boost voter trust is a post-election audit. Five percent of the county’s 284 precincts will be chosen randomly to take part in the audit. According to Holland, ballots completed from both the returning Optical Scan and new AutoMARK systems will be rerun through their machines, with the results compared to initial figures to ensure that there are no abnormalities or conflicting numbers.
As of June 9, there were 486,677 registered voters in Duval County. Holland said he anticipates another 20,000 to register before the general election in November. Another potential boost to the overall number could come from a portion of inactive voters – over 87,000 since 2006 – becoming active again by filing a correct address for proper precinct information.
The 85 percent voter turnout mark is one that Holland believes is realistic and he uses statistics and the historical implications of the November election as the basis.
The 2000 election, the last with no incumbent president, had a 76 percent turnout. The 2004 election had a 74 percent turnout. The minority turnout for both elections was around 42 percent, but Holland sees that number potentially increasing due to the historical nature of the election.
“I believe there will be a large jump in the urban core if Senator (Barack) Obama gets the nomination for the Democratic Party,” said Holland. “If that happens, the overall number should jump.”
One precinct manager has already seen a jump this year. Judy Thompson, a manager for Precinct 03 in East Arlington, has seen firsthand the enthusiasm and eagerness of new and longtime voters who voted in the Jan. 29 primary.
“We had a big turnout for the primary and had quite a few first-time voters,” she said. “I think we’re going to have a lot of people come out for the election. People are just excited about being a part of this election.”
Thompson’s precinct has 2,200 registered voters and she expects a bigger turnout than the ones she has been involved with since she started with the elections office in 2001. Her team of nine consists of inspectors and technical help, but she will be requesting an additional inspector to help with what she believes will be increased line traffic.
Her precinct’s voters aren’t the only ones that are looking forward to the Fall elections.
“The term ‘excited’ is an understatement for me,” she said. “I’m thrilled and delighted to be a part of this coming historical election. I’m not the only one, though, as the whole team is excited and maybe little anxious, too.”