Elections Offices Gearing Up for Republican Primary

Florida’s Republican voters will troop to the polls on Jan. 31 to make their marks on the presidential preference primary. Nine candidates are in the running.

The deadline to register and qualify for the election is Jan. 3. Because there is no other issue on the ballot in Sarasota County, only registered Republicans can vote on Jan. 31. Florida is a “closed primary” state, so only Republicans can vote in the Republican Primary.

The Sarasota elections office has not yet drawn new precinct boundaries, so polling places will remain as they have in the past. In Manatee, the lines were re-drawn, and about 40,000 Manatee voters will have a new place to cast their ballots.

In alphabetical order as they will appear on the ballot, the nine Republican presidential candidates are:

Michele Bachmann

Herman Cain

Newt Gingrich

Jon Huntsman

Gary Johnson

Ron Paul

Rick Perry

Mitt Romney

Rick Santorum