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Early voting hours in Pasco have been cut by a third for this month's Republican presidential primary.
An elections law enacted last year cuts early voting days from 14 to eight, and also allows local election officials to cut the total number of hours.
The new law requires early voting to be available from Jan. 21 until Jan. 28. Local officials can offer between six and 12 hours of voting each day. For this month's election, Pasco Supervisor of Elections Brian Corley decided to keep polls open eight hours each day, for a total of 64 hours. The old law required 96 total hours.
Corley said it didn't make sense to offer early voting for the full 12 hours each day during a light election. Because Florida primaries are "closed," only registered Republicans are eligible to vote. Election Day is Jan. 31.
"We're having to balance budgetary considerations, spending taxpayer money wisely, with expected turnout," he said, adding that many of his counterparts across the state are also offering eight hours of early voting each day.
Though the total time is reduced, the schedule allows for more weekend early voting. It will also be Pasco's first time to offer early voting on a Sunday. The change saved Corley's office roughly $55,000.
For high-turnout elections, such as the November general election, Corley said early voting sites will be open for the maximum 12 hours.
Lee Logan can be reached at llogan@tampabay.com or (727) 869-6236.
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