JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Sunday was the last day for early voting in the Duval County elections.
Voter turnout slightly increased since the start of early voting on March 6 but it was still under 15%.
Chief Election Officer Robert Phillips told News4JAX that voters usually cast their ballots at the last minute.
“I hate to say this, but in general, people pay less attention to these local city elections. That’s just a trend and we’ve seen it for years,” Phillips said.
Phillips said voters tend to pay more attention to presidential and governor elections.
“When they come to these local elections, they don’t seem to pay as much attention, which is really counterintuitive because these elections are very important to us as a city,” he said.
According to Phillips, mayoral elections usually garner 30% voter turnout.
“Back in 2015, the last time the mayor’s race was contested with no incumbent, we were having about a 33% turnout,” Phillips said. “We would like to get that but just with what we’re looking at now, it might not break 30%.”
Voters still have a final opportunity to head to the polls on Tuesday.
Phillips believes there will be a better turnout on Election Day.
“There has been a trend lately, especially with one of the parties to show up more heavily on Election Day. That’s why we encourage everyone to vote early or vote by mail because you never know what might happen,” Phillips said.