Tick tock! Election Day is only a week away!

Submitted by Suanne Z. Thamm
Reporter – News Analyst
October 27, 2020

People often say that, in a democracy, decisions are made by a majority of the people. Of course, that is not true. Decisions are made by a majority of those who make themselves heard and who vote — a very different thing. ~Walter H. Judd

Be strong.  Only a week to suffer through noxious TV and radio ads, annoying robocalls and political mailers that fill our recycle bins to overflowing.  If you haven’t voted by mail or taken advantage of early voting yet, your window of opportunity is shortening.

With only a week to go, Nassau County (FL) voter turnout appears on a record setting pace.  As of 11:00 a.m. October 27, 2020, 52.17 percent of the county’s 72,227 active voters have cast their ballots, either by mail or in person via Early Voting.

Here is the breakdown by precinct:

Every precinct reports more than 40 percent recorded ballots. The highest turnout by precinct has been recorded for 202 at the American Beach Community Center (69%);  lowest – 403 Bryceville Community Center (49.3%).

As of this writing, 15,784 of the 24,029 requested mail ballots have been returned — 65.7 percent.

Early voting continues at select polling locations until 6:00 p.m. on November 1, 2020.  Mail ballots must be received by the Supervisor of Elections by the close of the polls on Election Day, November 3, 2020. On Election Day, all polls open from 7 a.m. – 7 p.m.

People on whom I do not bother to dote
Are people who do not bother to vote…
And excuse themselves by saying What’s the difference of one vote in fifty million?
They have such refined and delicate palates
That they can discover no one worthy of their ballots,
And then when someone terrible gets elected
They say, There, that’s just what I expected!…
Oh let us cover these clever people very conspicuously with loathing,
For they are un-citizens in citizens’ clothing…

~Ogden Nash (1902–1971), “Election Day Is a Holiday”