JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – In 81 days, some Duval County voters will be heading to the polls in Florida for the presidential primary.
But where they are used to voting may not be the same.
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Everyone will be getting a new voter ID card if you’re a registered voter in Duval County, but look closely.
A recently-settled lawsuit in Duval County has changed voting locations for over 245,000 voters. Instead of 186 voting sites, it’s now 160, 26 fewer than in the last election. Many precinct boundaries have shifted and some have closed. Now a new voter card that is arriving in your mail will let you know where you will need to go to vote.
“Not a big deal. But again, when we’re sending them out, we send them out to everybody,” said Supervisor of Elections Jerry Holland. “But some will actually get a precinct location change. And that will be a physical location change where there’ll be voting. They’ll know about looking at the card, they’ll know and see the location has changed. And that’s the phone calls we’re getting and have gotten in the last few days is why is my precinct changed, and where is this location?”
Before the lawsuit, some areas, particularly in north Jacksonville, had many more voting sites than other parts of town. Now, because of settlement, each district will have about the same number, ranging from 10 to 12 per district.
News4JAX spoke with one voter on the phone who did not want to be identified. She used to come to one precinct on the Eastside and now will have to go two miles away to vote. For her, that’s not easy.
“I shouldn’t have to go that far to vote,” she said. “So I’m thinking, you mean to tell me y’all provided voting places for everybody in Jacksonville but the people on the east side of town, from Eighth Street on down, we don’t have a polling place.”
Holland said voters need to check these cards way before the next election. And remember, early voting or vote by mail is a good option if a new voting site won’t work for you.
Holland said this also gives them a good count on where voters are now located. If you don’t get a card, contact the supervisor of elections office and if you get a card for someone else at your address let the office know as well and they can contact that voter.