We are in the home stretch – Important Election Information

Vicki Cannon

Submitted by Vicki P. Cannon
Nassau County Supervisor of Elections
October 30, 2018 8:10 a.m.

As we near Election Day, I would like to update all Nassau County voters on the election process.   As of Sunday evening, with one week left to vote, over 19% of Nassau County voters had already cast their ballots.  Our election workers and staff have been working diligently and have been working very long hours to make sure Nassau County voters have an opportunity to vote conveniently in the upcoming General Election.   I would like to thank each and every one of them for their tremendous dedication, kindness and patriotism!

Sample Ballots:   Over 65,000 Sample Ballots were mailed to registered voters in Nassau County on October 9th.   If you did not receive a sample ballot, please contact our office or visit www.VoteNassau.comto get your sample ballot.   Due to the length of the ballot, we recommend that you Review it, Mark it and Take it to the Pollsto use as a reference when marking your official ballot.

Voter Record:   Please make sure your voter record is current to avoid having to complete paperwork at the early voting site or polling place.   The upcoming General Election ballot is based on your residential address and must be correct to ensure you are issued the correct ballot style, and that you know your Election Day polling place.   By law, you can only vote at your assigned precinct on Election Day.  All three municipalities have contests on the ballot this year and only voters currently residing in the respective municipality are eligible to vote on those contests.  You can verify your address is current in your voter record by visiting www.VoteNassau.comand clicking Update My Voter Record on the home page or by calling 904.491.7500.

Identification is needed when voting in person or a voter will be offered a Provisional Ballot.  Provisional Ballots are issued to persons who do not bring acceptable ID or if their eligibility cannot be determined.   The Canvassing Board meets on November 8that 5 p.m. to consider and tabulate accepted Provisional Ballots.   A voter whose eligibility cannot be determined has until 5 p.m. that day to submit evidence of their eligibility.  For Provisional Ballots voters who did not have identification, the signature on their Provisional Ballot envelope is compared to the signature(s) in the voter’s record and, if the signature matches, the ballot is counted.  A list of acceptable identification is available at www.VoteNassau.comand on your Sample Ballot.

Early Voting:   The first day of Early Voting began last Friday and patriotism was in the air!  After conducting elections for almost 36 years (18 years as Fernandina Beach City Clerk and 18 years as Supervisor of Elections), I have never seen voters so enthusiastic and patriotic as they were on the first day of early voting.   There is always a line on the first day of early voting and for the first hour on Election Day, but nothing like we experienced that day.   As I talked to voters in line to let them know we could provide their ballot to them in our office if they didn’t have time to wait, they expressed how pleased and encouraged they were that so many voters were out to vote.   After the lines settled down an hour or so thereafter, I talked to the election workers and thanked them for their quick response and accommodations made to make sure each voter moved through the process efficiently.   They also commented on how proud the voters were that so many had shown up to vote and how many voters had commented that it was their privilege to stand in line to vote.

Early voting began on Friday, October 26thand will continue daily through Saturday, November 3rdfrom 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. at the four early voting sites:   Hilliard Community Center, Callahan County Building, James S. Page Governmental Complex in Yulee and Atlantic Avenue Recreation Center in Fernandina Beach.  For additional information, please refer to your sample ballot, visit www.VoteNassau.comor call 904.491.7500.

Vote by Mail:  If you requested a Vote by Mail ballot and have not received it, please contact our office for assistance.  Remember, even if you received a vote by mail ballot, you can still early vote or vote on Election Day at your assigned polling place, as long as your voted ballot has not been received in our office.    Some voters ask whether vote by mail ballots only count in close elections and the answer is vote by mail ballots are tabulated and counted in every election in Florida.    In fact, vote by mail and early votes are the first to be tabulated and displayed on our website immediately after 7 p.m. on Election Day.   A couple of other reminders are:

Track Your Mail Ballot:   By visiting www.VoteNassau.comand clicking Track My Mail Ballot on the home page, you can see that your ballot has been received and that there were no voter errors (no signature, signature difference, etc.).

USPS Mailing Recommendations:   The United States Postal Service (USPS) has been working closely with election officials across the country to ensure vote by mail ballots are delivered timely.   The USPS recommends that voters mail their ballot to the elections office at least one week before November 6thfor timely delivery.   The ballot must be received in our Yulee office by 7 p.m. or at the Historic Courthouse by 5 p.m. on November 6, 2018 to be counted.  Overseas voters have an additional ten days for their ballot to be received if it was dated and/or postmarked by November 6th.

Election Day:  On Election Day, November 6th, you must vote at your assigned polling place. Please be advised that it is against the law to knowingly vote outside of the precinct in which you live.  The polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Voter Turnout and Election Results:   Voter turnout in Gubernatorial Election cycles when the Governor is to be elected range between 51 to 56 percent in Nassau County.   Visit www.VoteNassau.comand click Election Turnout Quickviewfor real time voter turnout information and Election Results after the polls close to view the results of the vote by mail, early voting and Election Day results.   Our hope is that this will be the highest turnout in Nassau County’s history!

In Florida, any eligible voter can vote by mail for any reason, vote early at any early voting site for more than a week before the election, or vote on Election Day.    Before 2000, voters only had two options to vote:  absentee ballot with a reason and on Election Day.   Over the past decades, voting has become more convenient all over our great nation.

In closing, my colleagues and I consider it a privilege to serve the voters of Nassau County!   Please let us know if we can assist you in any way.  You can contact our office by phone at 904.491.7500 or toll free at 1.866.260.4301, by email at [email protected] by visiting our office at 96135 Nassau Place, Suite 3, Yulee, FL.  Please let us know how we can assist you in any way.  Please vote!