Image courtesy Pixabay

Running an election is hard enough. Try doing it in the wake of a Category 4 hurricane.

Supervisor of Elections Ron Turner said the election on Nov. 8 will proceed, and he hopes in this area, there will be fewer hiccups than seen in Charlotte or Lee County to the south.

“There are polling locations we anticipate will not be available to utilize of Election Day,” Turner said.

But unlike other areas, Turner said that can be addressed with a few precinct combinations. If the place you normally vote looks like it was flooded or flattened, keep an eye on the mail for a notice you may be voting in a nearby precinct instead.

Of course, that could be harder than normal. Turner noted he lost his own mailbox in Hurricane Ian, and many lost much more. With many voters displaced from their homes, Turner recognizes communication could be a problem in the region for some time.

Still, the elections office in Sarasota sent out mail-in ballots already, albeit a few days late. Ballots normally would have been mailed out on Sept. 29, two days after Hurricane Ian made landfall in Southwest Florida. Based on the extraordinary circumstances, local ballots were put in the mail to voters on Oct. 4.

Lee and Charlotte counties anticipate, if they can get permission from Gov. Ron DeSantis, going a step farther than combining precincts. Lee County Supervisor of Elections Tommy Doyle hopes to leave a dozen early voting locations in the county open until polls close on Nov. 8, and simply go that route instead of opening nearly 100 polling locations.

Turner said that may make sense in counties where the storm created catastrophic disruption countywide, but Sarasota is simply in a different boat. While Sarasota as of Friday remains one of five counties where thousands remain without electricity, damage remains largely limited to the southernmost portions. North Port, Englewood and parts of South Venice took plenty of damage, but most of the county can operate for the most part normally.

Early voting in the county will run from Oct. 24 until Nov. 6 in the county, with voting taking place at nine locations. Turner believes all should be operational for the entire early voting period.

But without doing voting centers for the general election countywide, it doesn’t make sense to do them only in south county, Turner said.

He suggested the best thing voters can do now is to take a look at the three ways ballots can be cast: mail-in, early or at the polls. He also reminds voters that this is a long ballot, so it’s good to have a plan before there’s a pen in your hand anyhow.

“Know who and what you will vote for before you go to cast your ballot,” he said. “Do research in advance, and consider all three ways of voting. All three great are great methods available to voters.”

He acknowledges staffing polling locations will be a challenge this year. One long-time poll worker has already informed the office they lost their house in the storm— but still want to help at the polls. Turner anticipates many poll workers will be unavailable.

But training hasn't been disrupted here, and will begin in the north portion of the county this coming week.

“We will do everything we can to ensure this election is secure, accessible and that everyone has the opportunity to vote, including those most impacted by Hurricane Ian,” he said.

Jacob Ogles is contributing senior editor of SRQ MEDIA.

Image courtesy Pixabay