JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jacksonville will elect a new mayor on Tuesday which could set the city on a new course.
Early voting and vote-by-mail turnout is over 19% and the county could see a 37% overall turnout when all is said and done. It’s not great but it’s much higher than the first election in March. It was only 25% then.
Election staff said they are ready and hope to wrap up the count early Tuesday night, but you never know what could happen. There is some rain in the forecast and that could dampen the expected turnout, but if you can’t make it to the polls you can come to the Duval County Supervisor of Elections Office downtown and explain the emergency and they will let you vote by mail.
Jeff Hill wants to make sure his vote and others are counted.
“I voted early yesterday. I got my mother. I transported her over to vote early yesterday. And then my wife was the one that was late. I got her to dig up her mail ballot and I just dropped it off here,” said Jeff Hill.
Others who already voted say this election is important and found the campaigning to be a bit over the top.
“I saw some of the campaigns seemed kind of nasty kind and ugly. I just want what’s best for Jacksonville,” said voter Ronnie Graham.
News4JAX caught up with several poll workers on Monday who were picking up supplies for the election. Nicole Hamler has been working with the elections office for 23 years.
“Nothing surprises me. But we know how to handle every situation because they’ve trained us effectively,” Hamler said.
Sheri Thomas will be at a polling site in Mandarin.
“I’m really looking forward to it and I hope the people, the citizens of Jacksonville will come out and vote. I worked early voting and I’d like to see more citizens This is our city everyone’s worked hard for the right to vote, and they need to get out this is one thing we can control,” Thomas said.
For Supervisor Mike Hogan it will be his last election and he hopes more people will show up. He said younger voters and millennials appear not to be taking part as much as older voters. He would like to see that change.
“I think the election overall has gone very smoothly. It was a little less contentious I thought in this round. But there was still a lot of name-calling and bantering among some of the candidates. The public seems to be, you know, informed. I think that this is going to be a good election,” Hogan said.
The polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 7 p.m.