Florida Presidential Preference Primary : March 17, 2020

Submitted by Suanne Z. Thamm
Reporter – News Analyst
March 15, 2020

Despite concerns about the coronavirus, the Florida Presidential Preference Primary will be held as scheduled on Tuesday, March 17, 2020.  Early voting ended on March 14, 2020.

As of noon Sunday, 22 percent of Nassau County’s 53,851 registered voters have cast their ballots by mail or early voting.  Of the 11,845 votes cast, 8,010 were cast in the Republican Primary and 3,833 were cast in the Democratic Primary.

Before you head out to the polls on Tuesday, remember that Florida is a closed primary state.  This means that you may only vote in the primary of the party in which you are registered.  

For authoritative information on polling places, requesting mail ballots and changing voter registration information, visit the Supervisor of Elections website by clicking here

All reasonable precautions are being taken to address voter concerns regarding exposure to the coronavirus.  According to a March 14, 2020 posting from Nassau County Supervisor of Elections Vicki Cannon:

“The health and safety of our community – including voters, poll workers and staff – is our top concern. I want to share with you the measures we’re taking to address Coronavirus.

“We are in regular communication with Nassau County’s Emergency Operations Center, Florida’s other Supervisors of Elections, and the FL Division of Elections, and we are following guidelines set forth by the CDC and the Florida Department of Health.

“We have hand sanitizer and sanitizing wipes at all polling locations.

“We have directed our poll workers and staff to wipe down equipment, voting booths, pens and surfaces frequently, to wash their hands thoroughly and often, and to stay home if they’re sick.

“In our offices, we have dedicated housekeeping staff cleaning surfaces, door handles, etc. throughout the day.

“We have directed polling place clerks to check with their team members and ensure no one works on Election Day who is sick or has been on a cruise or commercial airline in the last two weeks.

“We are keeping a close eye on Election Day polling place staffing. We staff every polling place with both a clerk and an assistant clerk who can run the polling place, as well as additional staff. We have identified and trained alternate election workers who are available to be assigned to an Election Day polling place, if needed.

“Over-the-counter” Vote By Mail ballots can be picked up by voters (or their designees, with this signed affidavit prior to Election Day and with this signed affidavit on Election Day) at our office (weekdays 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. and Election Day, 7 a.m. – 7 p.m.)
This is obviously a fluid situation, and we’re prepared to change course, if needed.”