Submitted by Suanne Z. Thamm
Reporter – News Analyst
August 15, 2018 — 10:00 p.m.
Early voting for the 2018 Primary and School Board elections will be available daily between 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. from Friday, August 18 through Saturday, August 25, 2018 for registered Nassau County voters. Regardless of your assigned polling place, you may vote early at any one of the four locations listed below:
Callahan County Building Hilliard Community Center
45401 Mickler Street 37177 Pecan Street
Callahan, FL 32011 Hilliard, FL 32046
James S. Page Governmental Complex Atlantic Recreation Center
96135 Nassau Place 2500 Atlantic Avenue
Yulee, FL 32097 Fernandina Beach, FL 32034
As of midday August 15, 2018, the Nassau County Supervisor of Elections has received 3,150 mail ballots, meaning that roughly 4.8 percent of the county’s registered voters have already voted.
If you do not vote by mail or early vote, your last chance to have a say in the upcoming primary and school board elections will be Primary Election Day, August 28, 2018. At that time, you will need to vote at your assigned polling location.
Although August 28 is officially known as Primary Election Day, one County Commission race, two Nassau County school board races, and three Ocean Highway and Port Authority races will be decided during this election cycle.
Regardless of your political party registration, you will be able to vote in each of the following contests [(I) indicates the candidate is the incumbent]:
Nassau County Board of County Commissioners – District 2
Aaron Bell vs. Dawn Hagel
Nassau County School Board – District 1
Robin Lentz vs. Donna Martin (I)
Nassau County School Board – District 5
Lissa Braddock vs. Jonathan Petree (I)
Ocean Highway and Port Authority – District 3
Scott Hanna vs. Adam Salzburg (I)
Ocean Highway and Port Authority – District 4
Carrol Franklin (I) vs. Jeanne Scott
Ocean Highway and Port Authority – District 5
Mike Cole vs. John Van Delinder
Only registered Republican voterswill be able to cast ballots in the District 4 Nassau County Board of Commissioners race. The winner of the primary – either challenger Thomas Ford or incumbent George Spicer – will go on to the November 6 General Election to face write-in candidate William Kruse.
For complete election information on ballots and voting locations, consult the Sample Ballot which you should already have received by mail or visit the Nassau County Supervisor of Elections website.
But whichever means you choose, please do vote!
Nassau County has almost 66 thousand registered voters, of which the clear majority – almost 38 thousand – are registered Republicans. The remainder are almost evenly split between Democrats and Other (which includes those with no party affiliation).
On a statewide basis, registered Democrats slightly outnumber registered Republicans: 4.8M to 4.6M. About 27 percent of the electorate — 3.5M voters – are registered as NPA, or No Party Affiliation. That number has risen about 4 percent since the 2016 Primary.