Pandemic, hurricane won’t stop early voting from starting Monday

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Yes, a hurricane will be near Jacksonville on Sunday and Florida just reported continues to break daily records for COVID-19 deaths reported in the sate. While those major events have taken attention away from Florida’s August primary election, in person voting begins Monday in Jacksonville, Nassau, Flagler and Bradford counties and everywhere across the state by the end of next week.

“Early voting keeps increasing as far as folks using that venue,” Duval County Supervisor of Elections Mike Hogan said earlier this year. “That’s wonderful for us because it takes a lot of stress off Election Day.”

Scroll down for locations, dates and hours of early voting locations in every county in northeast Florida

VOTER’S GUIDE: Races on the ballot in each district and county in Northeast Florida

Hogan said Duval County is also prepared for any impact from the passing of Hurricane Isaias.

″We’ve already met with our colleagues, the EOC and National Guard,” he said.

Hogan said he and other election supervisors put safety measures in place at the voting sites to protect everyone from the spread of coronavirus.

“We’re going to make sure we can take good care of the safety of our voters and our poll workers,” Hogan said Friday.

Among the steps taken:

• Poll workers are answering a series of questions to make sure they are healthy and ready to work.
• An additional worker was hired for each of Duvals 199 precincts to sanitize and clean all contact surfaces, including voting booths.
• Voting booths will be spaced to complement social distancing efforts.
• Masks and hand sanitizer will be available to voters.
• The secrecy sleeves used for ballots will only be used once.
• A nearly touchless ID identification process will be used.

Some voters didn’t wait for early voting, opting not to vote in person during the pandemic. More than 3.8 million Florida voters had requested vote-by-mail ballots by July 31 and nearly 1 million had returned their ballots. Voting by mail is expected to set records this year as people try to take minimize trips and contact with others during the coronavirus pandemic.

The deadline to request a ballot by mail is Aug. 8 and they must be returned by 7 p.m. on the day of the primary, Aug. 18.

When it comes to gauging voter enthusiasm, Hogan all the variables surrounding the primary and general elections this year make turnout hard to predict.

″Right now we are looking at probably around 32% to 33% turnout,” Hogan said. “We originally thought it would be in 40s, and that’s not going to happen.”

Early voting

Early voting uses the same voting equipment that is used at the polls on Election Day and voters can cast a ballot at any location in their county. Early voting ends the weekend before the primary election. On Election Day -- Aug. 18 -- voters can only cast a ballot at their assigned precincts.

In order to vote at the polls during early voting or on Election Day, citizens must show a current and valid picture and signature identification. (List of acceptable forms of photo identification) If your photo identification does not contain your signature, you will be required to show an additional form of identification that provides your signature.

Early voting dates and locations

Scroll down for a text listing of all poll locations and links to your county’s supervisor of elections office for more information.

Duval County - Aug. 3-16

All sites are open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. except for the Supervisor of Elections main office downtown, which is open 8 a.m to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.

• Supervisor of Elections Main Office, 105 E. Monroe Street
• Argyle Branch Library, 7973 Old Middleburg Road South
• Beaches Branch Library, 600 3rd St., Neptune Beach
• Bradham-Brooks Branch Library, 1755 Edgewood Ave. West
• Gateway Town Center Community Center, 910 W. 44th Street
• Highlands Regional Library, 1826 Dunn Ave.
• Legends Community Center, 5130 Soutel Drive
• Mandarin Branch Library, 3330 Kori Road
• Murray Hill United Methodist Church, 4101 College St.
• Oceanway Community Center, 12215 Sago Ave.
• Pablo Creek Regional Library, 13295 Beach Blvd.
• Regency Square Branch Library, 9900 Regency Square Blvd.
• San Marco Branch Library, 1513 LaSalle Street
• South Mandarin Branch Library, 12125 San Jose Blvd.
• Southeast Regional Library, 10599 Deerwood Park Blvd.
• University Park Branch Library, 3435 University Blvd. North
• Webb Wesconnett Regional Library, 6887 103rd St.
• West Branch Library, 1425 Chaffee Road South

Note: Vote-by-mail voters may drop off their completed ballots at a designated secure drop box at the Supervisor of Elections office or any early voting site listed above. These boxes are located inside the Supervisor of Elections office or the early voting room.

Clay County - Aug. 6-15 - all sites open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

• Supervisor of Elections Office, 500 N. Orange Ave., Green Cove Springs
• Orange Park Library, 2054 Plainfield Ave., Orange Park
• Oakleaf Residence Club, 3973 Eagle Landing Pkwy., Orange Park
• Fleming Island Library, 1895 Town Center Blvd., Fleming Island
• Keystone Heights City Hall, 555 Lawrence Blvd., Keystone Heights
• Middleburg Civic Center, 2102 Palmetto St., Middleburg
• Thrasher-Horne Conference Center, 283 College Drive, Orange Park

St. Johns County - Aug. 6-15 - all sites open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

• Supervisor of Elections Office, 4455 Avenue A #101, St. Augustine
• St. Johns Convention Center, 500, S. Legacy Trail, St. Augustine.
• Julington Creek Annex, 725 Flora Branch Blvd., St. Johns
• Shoppes of St. Johns, 120 Shops Blvd., St. Johns
• Ponte Vedra Branch Library, 101 Library Boulevard, Ponte Vedra Beach
• Southeast Branch Library, 6670 U.S. 1 South, St. Augustine
• St. Augustine Beach City Hall, 2200 A1A South, St. Augustine Beach
• W.E. Harris Community Center, 400 E. Harris Street, Hastings

Nassau County - Aug. 3-16 - all sites open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

• James Page Governmental Complex Supervisor of Elections Office, 96135 Nassau Place, Yulee
• Callahan Library, 450077 State Road 200, Callahan
• Hilliard Community Center, 37177 Pecan Street, Hilliard
• Atlantic Recreation Center, 2500 Atlantic Avenue, Fernandina Beach
• Yulee Sports Complex Community Center, 86142 Goodbread Road, Yulee

Putnam County - Aug. 4-15 - all sites open 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.

• Elections Office, 2509 Crill Ave., Suite 900, Palatka
• Interlachen Community Center, 135 S. County Road 315, Interlachen
• South Putnam County Government Complex, 115 N. Summit Street, Crescent City

Columbia County - Aug. 8-15 - sites open 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.

• Supervisor of Elections Main Office, 971 W. Duval Street, Lake City
• Fort White Community Center, 17579 SW SR 47, Fort White

Baker County - Aug. 6-15 - 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

• Supervisor of Elections Office, 32 North 5th St., Macclenny

Bradford County - Aug. 3-16, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

• Bradford County Courthouse, 945 N. Temple Ave., Starke

Flagler County - Aug. 3-15 - all sites open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

• Supervisor of Elections Office (located in Government Services Building), 1769 E. Moody Blvd, Building 2, Bunnell
• Flagler County Public Library, 2500 Palm Coast Parkway NW, Palm Coast
• Palm Coast Community Center, 305 Palm Coast Parkway NE, Palm Coast

Union County - Aug. 8-15 - Monday-Saturday, 8 a.m.-6 p.m., Sunday 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

• Supervisor of Elections Office, 175 West Main Street, Lake Butler

Alachua County - Aug. 3-15 - all sites open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

• Supervisor of Elections Office, 515 North Main Street, Suite 100, Gainesville
• Millhopper Branch Library, 3145 NW 43rd Street, Gainesville
• Tower Road Branch Library, 3020 SW 75th Street, Gainesville
• J. Wayne Reitz Union, UF Campus, 655 Reitz Union Drive, Gainesville,
• Legacy Park, 15400 Peggy Park, Alachua
• Orange Heights Baptist Church, 16700 NE SR 26, Hawthorne

To check your voter status or for early voting locations and times in other Florida counties, visit dos.MyFlorida.com.