Early voting is about to start. Here’s what you need to know — including about COVID-19

Florida’s presidential primary is just around the corner on March 17 and Manatee County voters will have the opportunity to cast ballots early beginning Saturday.

Anyone planning to take advantage of early voting had to be registered by Feb. 18.

With concerns about coronavirus, or COVID, ongoing, Manatee County Supervisor of Elections Mike Bennett said all polling stations will be routinely sanitized, “to the best of our ability.”

Bennett said the elections office has fallen victim to the hand sanitizer shortages as well, and, “It’s difficult to find anything, but we are doing our best.”

Voters are encouraged, if they have them, to sanitize before and after voting on March 17.

If you prefer the vote-by-mail option, Bennett said time is running out but voters can still request a VBM ballot by no later than 5 p.m. Saturday.

As of Friday, Bennett said there have been about 30,000 VBM ballots delivered to the elections office.

“We are still processing them, but a lot of people who voted by mail voted for someone no longer in the game,” Bennett said referring to Democratic voters who voted prior to their candidate of choice dropping out of the race.

“We try to warn them about that because there are no do-overs,” Bennett said. “Once we get them, it’s gone. People don’t understand the processing. They ask why they just can’t get their ballot back, but it’s because once the ballot is separated from the envelope, it’s processed.”

Bennett could not offer any voter breakdowns on the VBM balloting, but said Republicans have been much more likely to vote early because President Donald Trump is already the presumptive GOP nominee. However, Bennett was unable to immediately determine the percentage of VBM ballots between Democrats and Republicans.

Election day voters must vote in their designated polling stations, but early voters can vote at any one of the early voting locations. They are:

• Lakewood Ranch Town Hall: 8175, Lakewood Ranch Blvd.
• Manatee County Utilities Administration Offices: 4410 66th St. W.
• Palmetto Library: 923 Sixth St. W.
• Rocky Bluff Library: 6750 U.S. Hwy. 301
• Manatee County Supervisor of Elections Office: 600 301 Blvd. W.

Voting begins Saturday morning and will run through the evening of March 14. Polling stations open at 8 a.m. each day and close at 6 p.m.