Submitted by Suanne Z. Thamm
Reporter – News Analyst
September 27, 2018 9:44 a.m.
Nassau County Supervisory of Elections Vicki Cannon and her staff are in a flurry of activity getting ready for the November 6 General Election. But before Nassau County residents can vote, they must register by October 9, 2018. Most of the information needed to register is provided in detail on the Supervisor of Elections website. Additionally, we posed a few questions to help potential voters understand more about voter registration. Our questions and Cannon’s replies appear below.
Question: I am registered to vote in my home state. If I register to vote in Florida, will my home state be notified to drop me from their rolls? Or is that my responsibility?
Answer: Although not a required field on the Florida Voter Registration Application, if you complete the “Address Where You Were Last Registered to Vote” field, the State where you last resided will be notified to cancel your registration. If you are moving within the State of Florida, we will pull your registration record into our county from the Florida Voter Registration System. Although there is nothing that requires a citizen to notify the county where they last resided of their change in residential address, it does save taxpayer money and assists election officials in maintaining accurate voter registration databases.
Question: Why do I have to indicate a party affiliation when I register? What if I want to change parties?
Answer: Florida is a closed primary state. Refer to Understanding Florida Elections handout. You can change party affiliation at any time. However, you must change your party affiliation by no later than 29 days prior to a primary election to be eligible to vote for that party’s races. All registered Florida voters, regardless of party affiliation or no party affiliation, may exercise their right to vote for candidates and public measures on the General Election ballot.
Question: Who has access to my voter registration information other than the Supervisor of Elections?
Answer: Voter registration information is a public record. There are some types of information that are exempt (social security number, driver license or ID numbers, etc.) Address Protected Voters are those who completed a Public Records Exemption Request form due to their eligibility, i.e. law enforcement, judges, etc. and certain information in their record is confidential and exempt from the public. Only persons registered in the Address Confidentiality Program are not listed in the Florida Voter Registration System.
Question: If I move to another location in Nassau County, do I need to reregister?
Answer: No, but you must update your address prior to voting. It is against the law to vote in a precinct that you are not residing in. You cannot arbitrarily choose a polling place.
Question: What if I marry or divorce or otherwise change my legal name? Does my voting eligibility automatically change or do I need to change my voter information?
Answer: Although you are still eligible to vote, you will need to update your voter record before voting. To avoid delays at the early voting site or your polling place on Election Day, you can update your voter record online at www.VoteNassau.com. It is important to update your signature when it changes as your signature is used to verify Vote by Mail ballots, petitions and provisional ballots.
Editor’s Note: Suanne Z. Thamm is a native of Chautauqua County, NY, who moved to Fernandina Beach from Alexandria,VA, in 1994. As a long time city resident and city watcher, she provides interesting insight into the many issues that impact our city. We are grateful for Suanne’s many contributions to the Fernandina Observer.