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Hernando County sees high early voter turnout, reflecting statewide trend

 
Timothy Furchak of Spring Hill dropped his ballot at the Hernando County Supervisor of Elections Branch Office on Oct. 22.  ALICE HERDEN | Special to the Times
Timothy Furchak of Spring Hill dropped his ballot at the Hernando County Supervisor of Elections Branch Office on Oct. 22. ALICE HERDEN | Special to the Times
Published Oct. 31, 2018

With Election Day around the corner, high voter turnout seems likely in Hernando County.

Early voting as of Wednesday morning already surpassed the early voting total from the 2014 midterm elections, Supervisor of Elections Shirley Anderson said. By that morning, 28,000 mail-in ballots of the 43,000 sent out had been returned, and at least 8,500 people had gone to the polls for early voting.

Nearly 40,000 total ballots were cast as of Wednesday morning, according to the county's election website. Not all of those were broken down yet by type (mail or early-voting) or party, but the breakdowns showed just less than half the ballots were cast by Republicans and just over a third by Democrats.

The numbers reflected high voter turnout across the state, with Hernando's turnout percentages on par with Pinellas County's rate from about the same time.

Aside from some voters who didn't follow ballot directions — to use only blue or black ink, to fill in circles entirely — Anderson said the county hadn't experienced any hiccups so far. Wait times stretched to 25 minutes on the first day of early voting, but there has been no wait on the days since.

She noted that lines could be long on Tuesday if more people don't show up for early voting, which runs through Saturday afternoon.

"I would encourage people very strongly to not wait to get out and vote," she said.

Hernando County Transit Services will offer free transportation to the polls Tuesday for voters who show a voter registration card. Voters can find their polling places online or by calling the elections office at (352) 754- 4125.

Voters can bring sample ballots into the booth with them, and they should also arrive at the polls with identification. ID must have both a photo and signature, which can be presented via one ID that has both (Florida driver's license, U.S. passport) or a combination of multiple IDs, which can also include credit or debit cards and military or student IDs.

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Contact Jack Evans at jevans@tampabay.com. Follow @JackHEvans.