Sarasota Election: Voter Turnout Reaches 53 Percent Tuesday

SARASOTA, FL — Voter turnout in Sarasota County reached 53 percent on Tuesday, according to data available on the county’s Supervisor of Elections website. There are around 340,000 registered voters in the county.

By Tuesday, nearly 181,000 voters submitted their ballot. About 158,000 have voted by mail and nearly 57,000 have participated in early voting.

So far, Republicans are slightly outpacing the Democrats. According to data, about 75,000 Republicans have voted by Tuesday, while 68,000 have cast their ballots. Nearly 38,000 Independents have also voted.

“The turnout for early voting has been steady. We strongly urge voters to consider voting early,” said a spokesperson for the Supervisor of Elections office. “Early voting will go a long way toward helping to reduce wait times and lines that could likely occur on Election Day due to high voter enthusiasm, a lengthy ballot and social distancing practices due to COVID.”

Voting has gone smoothly so far, the spokesperson added. The biggest concern has been reports from approximately a dozen voters whose return envelopes were already sealed when they received their vote-by-mail ballots.

“Florida humidity and weather are likely to have affected those small number of envelopes, and we have assisted any voter who has encountered this situation,” the spokesperson said.

Carol Hartz, president of the League of Women Voters of Sarasota County, also said she hasn’t heard of any “voting surprises or challenges” in the county.

Voters are interested and engaged in this year’s election, she added. “My guess is that voters, who seem highly engaged this election, are voting early to ensure their voices are heard and their ballots are counted.”

Hartz said LWV has seen a steady number of visitors to its website, which offers voter resources. Voting information can be found online here.

“We can tell by counting clicks (on our website) that voters are highly interested in information about the proposed constitutional amendments and judicial biographies,” she said. “Voters have also displayed interest in a link to the supervisor of election site that lets them check on the status of their mail in ballots.”

She advises Sarasota residents to “vote as early as possible and use the tools offered by the Sarasota Supervisor of Elections at SarasotaVotes.com to find your polling place, get early voting information and track your mail-in ballot if applicable.”