JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Early voting begins Oct. 24 in Duval County meaning voters will be able to go to one of the 20 early voting sites to cast their ballots in the 2022 midterm elections.
Early voting is becoming a very popular way to vote. Supervisor of Election officials predicts a 62% turnout.
As of Friday, 4.6% of registered voters in Jacksonville have cast a ballot -- that’s over 30,000 ballots that have been mailed in.
While working to check and verify the ballots that have been received, Duval County election staff members discovered 205 ballots with problems such as signatures not matching what’s on file for the voter, someone in the household signing the wrong ballot or there isn’t a signature at all.
Voters will be notified of the discrepancies and will have an opportunity to fix the errors.
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Other issues election staff members said they are facing are not the fault of the voters because ballots are being received in poor conditions. Some ballots were wet in transit. Others were packed in the envelope incorrectly causing the ballots to become stuck on the envelope’s adhesive. The Election Canvassing Board is working to determine voters’ intent and being careful when removing the ballots so it doesn’t strip off any of the voters’ information or candidate selections.
Duval County Supervisor of Elections Mike Hogan said that early voting is his favorite because it allows voters the opportunity to fix their mistakes.
“If you do have a problem in early voting, you can get it fixed. It’s not over, but on Election Day, if you’re in the wrong precinct, you’re voting provisional ballot, or you’re going to get angry and say, ‘No, I’m not going to vote at all,’ I’m not sure what will happen. But it’s a safer venue as it related to early voting,” Hogan said.
Although Election Day is the traditional day of voting for many -- particularly among older voters --, it’s a tradition that’s beginning to change as many voters start to take advantage of early voting.
Early voting ends Nov 6. at 7 p.m., and the general election is Tuesday, Nov. 8.