JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The new Duval County Supervisor of Elections Office is just about ready to open.
When it was first announced the office wanted to move from Gateway on the Northside to another area of Jacksonville, it caused a lot of concern from black voters and politicians.
The new location is on Imeson Park Boulevard, further north and just east of Interstate 95.
Many thought the move would make it harder for people on the Northside to vote. But changes were made and early voting will continue near the old election center site.
Now in less than a month, the new site will be open. It includes a call center, a tabulation center, a training room with ballot booths and electronic voting machines, and a media room.
The location also includes a warehouse where all the voting material is stored throughout the year. It's where the ballots and votes will come in on election nights.
And there will be new voting roll machines.
Supervisor of Elections Jerry Holland said it may all look expensive, but actually taxpayers are saving money.
"Well, we are very pleased with the new election center," he said. "One thing we want to let taxpayers know is how much money we saved. (We) literally cut our rent in half. The fact that the landlord paid for everything you see when we walked through, all the upgrades, everything was paid by the landlord. And we are going to be paying less than half of what we were paying before at Gateway."
The grand opening is set for May 6. The public is invited to attend.