More than 10,000 ballots returned in Manatee in advance of March 15 presidential primary

MANATEE -- More than 10,000 Manatee County voters have returned ballots for the Florida presidential primary set for March 15.

As of Monday afternoon, about 10,500 of 40,000 ballots mailed out to registered voters have been returned to the Manatee County Supervisor of Elections Office, according to Mike Bennett, supervisor of elections.

"It's about normal as far as returns coming back," Bennett said. "A lot of people sit on them until the last week or so."

Bennett said he did not have a breakdown available of how many of the returned ballots were for the Republican primary versus the Democrat primary.

The Florida primary, which is a winner-takes-all primary, is closed, meaning only voters registered as a Republican or Democrat can vote.

With some candidates dropping out of the presidential race after the ballots were mailed out, some people who already voted may be

wishing they hadn't, Bennett said.

The deadline to sign up to vote by mail is 5 p.m., Wednesday, March 9.

Early voting begins March 5 in Manatee County through March 12.

Five early voting locations will be open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. during eight days of early voting: Supervisor of Elections, Palmetto Library, Rocky Bluff Library, Lakewood Ranch Town Hall and West Manatee Fire and Rescue Administration.

For information, visit the Manatee County Supervisor of Elections website at votemanatee.com or call 941-741-3823.

Claire Aronson, Manatee County reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7024. Follow her on Twitter @Claire_Aronson.

This story was originally published February 22, 2016 at 11:27 PM with the headline "More than 10,000 ballots returned in Manatee in advance of March 15 presidential primary ."