Submitted by Suanne Z. Thamm
Reporter – News Analyst
June 13, 2016 11:21 a.m.
No matter how many websites or articles you read, Florida’s closed primary elections remain confusing to many people. In hopes of alleviating some confusion, I offer the following state of voting choices for Nassau County voters as of today.
In order to vote, you must be a registered voter. If you don’t register by August 1, 2016, you won’t have any voice in any primary race this year. This date is also the deadline for changing your party affiliation. Instructions for taking either of these actions may be found on the Supervisor of Elections website: http://www.votenassau.com.
Just because an individual has filed to seek a certain office does not mean automatically that the individual’s name will appear on the ballot. First the individual must qualify. In Nassau County, qualification will occur between noon on June 20 and noon on June 24, 2016. So the final list of names of candidates will not be known until the afternoon of June 24. Indeed, an individual may file and qualify at the same time.
As of this date, most of the people who have filed to run in partisan races are Republicans—21 to be exact. Four other individuals have filed as Democrat (1), Libertarian (1), and no party affiliation (2). Three people have filed to run in non-partisan school board races, one per contested district.
If the election were to be held today among all the people who have filed to run, Nassau voters would have the following choices on their ballots:
All voters, regardless of party affiliation, could vote in the following primary races (incumbents’ names in italics):
- Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller (Walter “Jr.” Boatright, John A. Crawford)
- Supervisor of Elections (Vicki P. Cannon, Jason L. Donahoe)
- Tax Collector (John M. Drew, Carlos E. Slay)
- County Commissioner, District 3 (Donald P. “Pat” Edwards, Tim Peak)
- Ocean Highway & Port Authority, District 2 (Jimmy Dubberly, Danny Fullwood)
Only registered Republican voters could vote in the following primary races (no incumbents):
- School Superintendent (Janet H. Adkins, Kathy Knight Burns)
- County Commissioner, District 5 (Klynt Alan Farmer, Justin M. Taylor, Joe Zimmerman)
- Ocean Highway & Port Authority, District 1 (Edward T. Coop, Pat K. Gass, Robert H. Sturgess)
The winners of these three Republican primaries would face off against non-Republicans in the November general election. In the School Superintendent race, the opposition would be Libertarian candidate Cheryl Reynolds James; County Commissioner District 5 primary winner would face John Stack, an unaffiliated candidate; and OHPA 5 candidate would face Democrat Coleman Langshaw.
The following offices would not appear on the August primary ballot because there is only one candidate listed for each office. In those cases, there would be no need for an election, so the following offices would be declared decided:
- Property Appraiser (Incumbent Mike Hickox)
- County Commissioner, District 1 (Incumbent Danny Leeper)
- School Board Member, District 2 (Incumbent Gail Cook)
- School Board Member, District 4 (Incumbent Kimberly Fahlgren)
- School Board Member, District 5 (Jonathan R. Petree)
The Sheriff’s race would not appear on the primary ballot because only one Republican—incumbent Sheriff Bill Leeper—would face unaffiliated candidate Carol Batchelor in the November general election.
In the past some voters who were not registered Republicans expressed confusion in seeing primary contests featuring only Republicans on their ballots. They have often left those ballots blank, mistakenly assuming that they could not vote in those races. Wrong! Rest assured that you may vote in any race that appears on your ballot. If you are not eligible to vote in a particular race, that race will not appear on your ballot.
Still confused? The Fernandina Observer will continue to update you as the situation warrants. But for the last word on either running for office or voting in primary elections, visit the Supervisor of Elections website www.votenassau.com.
And don’t forget to register to vote!
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.