Election officials prepare for record turnout ahead of Election Day in Florida
TAMPA, Fla. - Election officials throughout Florida put some of the final touches on what they hope will be a smooth and potentially record-breaking Election Day.
Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections Craig Latimer explained what was left to do before polls open Tuesday morning.
"We sent out five U-Haul trucks with equipment for Election Day polling sites that were the last deliveries we needed to make," Latimer said. "This evening a lot of the clerks will start setting up their polling site for tomorrow."
Latimer said he's hopeful Florida can be the gold standard and have election results in for the state without the issues of previous elections.
Pinellas is ‘smashing records’ during presidential election
Julie Marcus, the Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections, says voters in the county are breaking numbers across the board. For Election Day, before heading to the polls, she suggests checking the SOE website to make sure you are heading to the right polling location.
A major reason is a massive turnout for early and mail-in voting; using Hillsborough and Pinellas as examples, more than 60% of registered voters in both counties have already cast their ballots.
"Traditionally, we've done 72, 73% in a presidential election. It wouldn't surprise me for it to go higher," Latimer said.
Law enforcement, meanwhile, is putting out a warning about voter intimidation.
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"It's fine for anyone to go and express their First Amendment right, to talk, to wave a sign, to cheer for a candidate. But where it crosses the line is when you are harassing, intimidating, confronting, threatening and making someone feel uncomfortable," said Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren, adding if anyone sees anything unusual, a poll worker should be notified. "Poll workers are deputized. They are empowered to enforce the law. They understand the law really well."
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"We're going in here with a positive attitude and we've seen 14 days of early voting where people have been standing in lines," added Latimer. "There's been no heckling. They've been talking -- different parties talking to each other."
Voters must vote in their assigned polling location within their precinct. Latimer recommends voters review their sample ballot before heading to the polls, otherwise, it could take up to 30 minutes to vote.