Early voting under way
After months of watching campaign ads, hearing politician promises on TV and reading endorsements, the time to make a decision has arrived.
Early voting is under way in Lee County for the Nov. 6 General Election.
Early voting takes place daily from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. from now until Saturday, Nov. 3, at the five main polling sites in Lee County.
One of the many advantages of early voting is that, unlike on Election Day, any voter can vote at any office, not just at the closest one or the one in your precinct.
“Your license will pull up your voting file,” said Sharon Harrington, supervisor of elections.
“It tells you what precinct you’re in and prints your ballot,” Harrington said. “We have 32 different ballots, and we don’t need to carry stacks of ballots anymore.”
With the rush to vote early, Harrington said the early voting centers could end up being as crowded or more so than precincts on Election Day, especially at the beginning and end of the early voting period.
“There are lots of lines with early voting, and it’s become quieter on Election Day. The precincts in Cape Coral had lots of action, but most weren’t a problem,” Harrington said.
There could be more backups this year, Harrington said, because of the size of the ballot.
Four pages, both sides “with amendments nobody likes to read,” Harrington said.
“I hope they see one of the 370,000 sample ballots we mailed out,” Harrington said. “We tell people to use the sample so you can prepare ahead of time on what the ballot will look like.”
In 2008, according to Lee County election statistics, 64,444 people voted early and 89,900 requested mail ballots. That number has already been surpassed this election year, with 94,552 mail ballots sent out as of Thursday, Harrington said, with more being requested.
More than two-thirds voted before the 2008 election came, Harrington said.
In 2008, 84 percent of eligible voters in Lee County cast ballots, second-highest in the state, Harrington said, and she’s hoping for the same in 2012.
Early voting locations are:
Main Office-Fort Myers, Lee County
Constitutional Complex
(corner of Fowler St and
Martin Luther King Jr Blvd) 2480 Thompson St,
3rd Floor
Fort Myers
239-LEE-VOTE or
(239-533-8683)
Bonita Springs
Branch Office
Coconut
Commerce Center
24951 Old U S 41 Rd #10, Bonita Springs
239-949-1581
Cape Coral
Branch Office
(behind the Lee County
Government Center)
1031 S E 9th Pl #3
Cape Coral
239-533-7031
Election Center South
Branch Office
(across from the
Bell Tower Shops)
13180 S Cleveland Ave
Fort Myers
239-533-6918
East Lee County
Regional Library
(Meeting Room)
881 Gunnery Rd
Lehigh Acres
239-LEE-VOTE or
(239-533-8683)