Voter turnout in Manatee County sets new record as nation decides the presidency
Even though 64% of Manatee County registered voters had already cast their ballots going into Election Day, turnout at the polls was heavy Tuesday.
”I think this will be a record turnout,” Mike Bennett, Manatee County supervisor of elections, said early in the day, forecasting a turnout of 81 percent.
Manatee County’s voting record was set in 1992 during the George H. W. Bush-Bill Clinton presidential election when 79.5 % of Manatee County voters cast a ballot.
Manatee County has 273,427 registered voters. As of 7:02 p.m. Tuesday, 217,750 voters, or 79.6 percent, had unofficially cast ballots. Republicans accounted for 101,418 of those, followed by Democrats with 66,405 and no party affiliated and minor parties with 49,943, according to the Manatee County Supervisor of Elections web site.
At Legacy Baptist Church, 415 67th Ave. W., an estimated 100 voters waited in line at 8 a.m. to cast their ballots, an hour after polls opened
“It is an important time,” said Keith Bernard as he left the precinct. “I came to vote for the one candidate I care about, Trump. Normally, I line up for Republican candidates.”
Another voter at the same precinct, Nancy Bailon, 31, a Hispanic woman and member of the LGBTQ community, said this was the first time she has ever voted. She cast her vote for Democrat Joe Biden for president.
“I voted mostly out of empathy for other people that I know. I did something to help other people who might be looked down on in society,” Bailon said. “I pulled in at 6:15 a.m. and there was no line, so I left and went to get coffee. When I came back, there was a line and I waited about 45 minutes.”
Precinct 123, at the Rocky Bluff Library in Ellenton, had a line of about 25 voters when the polls opened at 7 a.m.
Mike Gies, 72, said he’s normally the first in line at his precinct to vote. But on Tuesday he was fourth.
Gies said he cast his vote for Donald Trump.
“I am a conservative. I don’t like all the radical stuff. We are forgetting our history. Nothing is free. Somebody pays somewhere,” Gies said, adding he has voted a mixed ticket in the past, but he said he voted a straight Republican ticket on Tuesday.
Voting was slow and steady at the Palmetto Youth Center Tuesday morning, with no lines but a steady stream of voters.
Cathy Oates didn’t mix words in why she was voting for Biden. Healthcare and racial concerns were her top priorities.
“Racial division is a biggie for me,” Oates said. “I want to see it better because the way it is right now is ridiculous and we need a president we can trust who is working for all of us and not just for his own personal issues.”
Oates said she’s never seen the racial divisiveness so bad.
“This is the United States of America,” she said. “Not the states of America.”
Oates also voted for Biden because she believes Republicans have failed to produce an adequate plan for healthcare and is concerned about Trump’s goal of dismantling the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, without a plan a place that will absolutely guarantee coverage of pre-existing conditions.
“My son has stage four cancer,” she said. “Without Obamacare, my son would not be getting the great healthcare he has now.”
Across the river in West Bradenton, Barclay Kirkland had a different vote in mind. Kirkand was standing outside American Legion Kirby Stewart Post 24 with a Trump flag and a signed “Make America Great Again” hat.
Kirkland supported Trump from the moment he announced he would run for president in 2015.
“I’ve been getting a lot of responses today,” Kirkland said. “I’d say 75 to 80 % of the people driving by are waving or giving the thumbs up in acknowledgment of four more years for President Trump.”
Kirkland said he knows a lot of people don’t always like the way Trump speaks.
“But I like everything he says. For me, it was his stance on illegal immigration from the beginning and keeping illegals, a certain percentage of which are really bad people. It’s an issue that is important to me and I’ve never backed down from that.”
At Precinct 327, Kingdom Life Church, 3700 26th St. W., Nancy Jaques, a 77-year-old Republican voter from Bradenton, said she voted for Trump because she was primarily concerned with the economy. Luke Piety, a 24-year-old Bradenton voter, said the economy was one of his biggest concerns, as well.
“It’s the economy and COVID-19 for me. I can’t choose just one,” Piety said before casting his vote.
It was very quiet on mid-afternoon at the Bayshore Gardens Recreation Center precinct. Greg Klein, 61, said he didn’t have to wait at all to vote and had no issues doing so.
Klein, a high school teacher, said he voted straight Democrat on his ballot.
“I want to get Trump out of the White House,” he added.
Unlike many, he intentionally chose to wait for Election Day to vote.
“They always say Republicans vote on election day, and I wanted to counterbalance that,” Klein said. “I also thought it was the only way to make sure my vote was counted. I was a little skeptical of all the mail-in voting.”
At the Oneco United Methodist Church, Melda Saldivar, 51, said she only waited behind one person to vote.
“It was easy,” she said.
Saldivar, an LPN who was accompanied by her two young nieces, said she voted for Trump.
“His platform was more aligned with my beliefs,” she said.
Donna Albritton, 55, enjoyed a few moments walking and smoking a cigarette after a day of work before heading into Oneco Methodist to vote.
She had initially requested a mail-in ballot but decided to vote in person instead Tuesday.
“It’s tradition. That when the excitement is, on Election Day,” she said. “COVID doesn’t have to ruin everything. I brought my mask. I’m going to stay away from people.”
Albritton was also planning to vote for the president.
“It inspired me when I saw the Trump train the other day,” she said. “I haven’t seen this much passion surrounding an election in my entire life.”
State House candidate David Fairey and state Senate candidate Anthony Elson, both Democrats, were at the polls greeting voters.
Debra Zambito, 53, said she started voting at 18 years old. She continued that tradition at St. Bernard Catholic Church on Holmes Beach.
“I’m a United States citizen and it’s one of our rights,” Zambito said. “I absolutely want to exercise it.”
“I do feel this is more important than any other election,” she continued. “I am not a supporter of Donald Trump. However, I will say the most positive thing that’s come out of his presidency is it has motivated this nation to vote.”
In Lakewood Ranch, Jenna Leduc, a 29-year-old voter, said she’s grown tired of the “polarization” of both the Republican and the Democratic parties.
“This election doesn’t feel different. It’s just more in your face,” Leduc explained, noting that she’s chosen to vote for third-party candidates who are “more in touch” with the concerns of younger voters.
The scene varied at polling locations in Parrish. Faith Lutheran Church, 9608 U.S. 301 N., was nearly devoid of signs or visitors around 2:30 p.m.
Just down the road, at New Hope Baptist Church, about two dozen cars filled the grass parking spaces.
A poll worker said there was a line for several hours in the morning. While that line was gone by Tuesday afternoon, a steady stream of voters remained.
Malik Ebanks, 19, was excited to vote for the first time, but his interest went beyond the presidential election.
“The president only has so much power,” Ebanks said. “I’m more focused on local and state elections.”
Possible violation of election law
Several Trump supporters may have violated state election laws when their caravan of vehicles adorned with pro-Trump signage made a trip through the parking lot at Lakewood Ranch Town Hall, one of Tuesday’s voting precincts.
The vehicles sported flags, bumper stickers and other promotional material. Signage supporting candidates isn’t allowed within 150 feet of the polling site’s entrance — a threshold that was broken.
Drivers repeatedly honked their horns as they drove through the parking lot and leaned out of the window yelling “Four more years!” and “God bless you!”
A similar pro-Trump event took place Saturday, as thousands gathered to join in a 33-mile loop throughout Manatee County.
Poll watchers with the Democratic Party of Manatee County saw Tuesday’s demonstration as a form of voter intimidation and reported the caravan to the Supervisor of Elections Office.
It’s not all about the presidential race
In addition to the presidential election, there are several local initiatives on Tuesday’s ballot, including a charter referendum for city of Bradenton voters, a land conservation referendum for voters throughout the county and various state constitutional amendments.
Keeping up with those issues can be confusing, said 67-year-old Barbara Duncan, who offered up some advice for her fellow voters.
“I hope people who don’t usually vote know what they’re voting for. You can do more damage that way,” Duncan said, referring to down-ballot items.
Ballots cast in Manatee
As of 7:02 p.m. Tuesday, 21,148 Republicans had gone to the polls to vote, while 8,601 Democrats had voted and 10,632 NPA and minor party voters had voted..
Early voting and voting at the polls Tuesday tended to be heavily Republican. During early voting, 39,331 Republicans cast ballots, compared to 17,219 Democrats and 15,916 others.
The vote-by-mail category was almost evenly split between Republicans and Democrats. There were 40,353 Republicans voting by mail, compared to 40,099 Democrats and 22,813 others.
According to the Manatee Supervisor of Elections Office, there are nearly 600 vote-by-mail ballots that need to be cured. The office will attempt to reach out to each affected voter and give them until 5 p.m. on Thursday to correct their ballot, as required by Florida law.
The elections office will also be making runs to the Bradenton and Tallevast post offices after 6:30 p.m. to pickup up any late arriving ballots, Bennett said.
Manatee County polls were set to close at 7 p.m.
This story was originally published November 3, 2020 at 9:20 AM.
