Home › Elections - Collier & Lee
Deadline approaches to register to vote in primary election
STORY TOOLS
RELATED STORIES
Related Links
- Official website of the Collier County Supervisor of Elections Office
- Get the latest local and national election news in our special Election 2008 section.
More Elections - Collier & Lee
- League of Women Voters announces candidate forums for Collier races
- Naples attorney elected to Legislature unopposed
- State Sen. Saunders to be honored with Green Elephant award
Share and Enjoy [?]
Collier and Lee County residents who want to cast ballots in the Aug. 26 primary election but haven’t registered need to do so by July 28.
Those who want to vote in the general election on Nov. 4 have more time -- that registration deadline is Oct. 6.
Voter registration forms can be picked up at local elections offices, city halls, driver license offices and public libraries.
Florida is a closed primary state. Voters may register with or without party affiliation but in most cases only registered Democrats or Republicans may vote in the respective party’s primary.
This year, as in previous years, Collier and Lee counties will have early voting.
For the Aug. 26 election, early voting is from Aug. 11 to Aug. 23. For the general election, early voting will run from Oct. 20 through Nov. 1.
Voters in this year’s elections will use a new optical scan ballot method that requires both an electronic and paper vote.
Collier County Supervisor of Elections Jennifer Edwards said the method has been used in more than 50 Florida counties for several years, but that this is the first year it will be used in this area.
“The change was made to improve voter confidence in the entire process and I think that it’s key that our voters have confidence in the voting process, so I support any changes to improve that,” Edwards said.
After checking in at a voting site, voters will receive a ballot, a secrecy sleeve and a marking pen, according to the Lee County Supervisor of Elections Web site.
A video demonstration of the new process is shown on the front page of that Web site.
Once a person receives their materials, voters will go to a privacy booth to manually mark the paper ballot with the pen given to them. Voters then insert the paper ballot into a machine that will check the ballot for errors and confirm that the votes were received.
Individuals who don’t want to participate in early voting or vote in person on election day can contact their elections office by mail, telephone or via the Web site to request an absentee ballot. Online forms are available at the Collier and Lee County Supervisor of Elections Office Web sites.
Only voters or their immediate family members, including a spouse, child, sibling, parent, grandparent or legal guardian, can request a ballot.
Absentee ballots must be received by the Supervisor of Elections Office by mail or in person no later than 7 p.m. on election day. Absentee ballots may not be turned in at polling places.
Edwards said that while she encourages new voters to register, she also urges registered voters whose addresses have changed to update their records.
To be eligible to register, voters must be U.S. citizens, at least 18 years old on or before election day and a resident of the county in which they are registering.
Voters are ineligible if they have been convicted of a felony or declared mentally incapacitated, unless voting rights have been officially restored.
For voting information, contact the Collier County Supervisor of Elections office at (239) 252-8450 or www.colliervotes.com. The Lee County Supervisor of Elections Office can be reached at (239) 533-8683 or www.leeelections.com.
Comments
This site does not necessarily agree with comments posted below. Comments are the sole responsibility of the person posting them. Break our rules, and we will ban you. No exceptions, no second chances. Read our privacy policy & user agreement.
Rambler it has been explained to you over and over again that no deal has been cut. An opinion from the OSC was issued. That's it.
#1 Posted by grillerdad on July 19, 2008 at 8:21 p.m. (Suggest removal)
These "opinions" have no legal standing. Same as an "opinion" from the Attorney General which are regularly sought on confused issues such as Rambosk's case. Just what that person thinks is probably the law.
Rambosk is acting to avoid even the slightest hint that he was acting illegally.
#2 Posted by oldcop007 on July 20, 2008 at 8:47 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I think it's terrible that NO Democrat will have any say in the Sheriff's election as they are all Republican candidates. This closed primary thing needs to be changed in the event that there is no candidate for the other party, which is so often the case in Collier County.
#3 Posted by fearisfailure on July 20, 2008 at 4:49 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Post your comment
(Requires free registration.)