Thousands flock to the polls on last day of early voting in Manatee County
On the final day of early voting in Manatee County, voters continued to make their voices heard.
Marla Doss, of Bradenton, was one of the thousands of residents who cast their vote Saturday, according to the Manatee County Supervisor of Elections Office. She said she felt it was important to exercise a right that many tend to take for granted.
“It’s a God-given right for us, but there’s a lot of people in this world that don’t get to do this, and it’s important for us to do our part,” Doss said.
In a heated political cycle, some struggled with making their decision on the ballot or deciding to submit a vote at all. Doss said she was unhappy with the constant sniping of politicians on every level.
“It’s about civility and all of us, even politicians, deserve that,” she explained.
Bradenton resident Ashley Cestero almost didn’t vote in the midterm election, but her family encouraged her to cast her vote and make a difference.
“Every election is important, you know, and I’ve got kids, so making sure I get out and do something that could potentially make their lives better is very important to me,” Cestero said.
Others said voting early was a no-brainer compared to dealing with long lines on Election Day.
“I’m just out here to get it done and get it in without having to worry about large crowds,” Bradenton resident Park Crisp said.
Supervisor of Elections Michael Bennett told the Bradenton Herald that Manatee voters tend to turn out more than the national average. By Saturday evening, about 96,500 voters had submitted their ballots.
About 62,700 voted by mail while another 34,000 voted early in person. According to unofficial local election data, those numbers result in a 39.37 percent turnout. That number is expected to increase significantly on Election Day. The national average in the 2014 midterm was 36.4 percent.
Manatee voters made a grand showing at the polls in 2016’s general election, too, with a turnout of 78.85 percent that topped the national average by 20 points. Early voter turnout across the state of Florida hit a record high with more than 4 million ballots cast.
In this election, there are more Republicans registered to vote in the county than Democrats. There are 106,306 Republicans, 75,046 Democrats and 64,778 voters with no party affiliation.
Manatee voters in this year’s midterm election will decide on Florida’s next governor, the area’s representative in Congress, one of Florida’s senators, Florida State House representatives, new county commissioners, various constitutional amendments and more.
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 6. Polls will open at 7 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. To find your voting location, visit the Supervisor of Elections website at votemanatee.com.
This story was originally published November 3, 2018 at 4:44 PM.