Last Updated: 2:31 p.m.
Early voting in Flagler County have significantly exceeded the numbers in the 2020 and 2016 general elections, with the total of mailed-in votes almost at parity with early voting. By early afternoon Friday, just the fifth of 13 days of early voting, a third of Flagler County’s registered voters–almost 32,000—had cast a ballot, well ahead of the 24 percent who have done so statewide.
The lines have been long, but the Flagler County Supervisor of Elections urges voters to alert poll workers if they need a chair as they wait in line: they will be assisted. Meanwhile, “I encourage voters to use a sample ballot for reference and be prepared before going to vote,” Supervisor of Elections Kaiti Lenhart said–especially so that voters read up on the half dozen amendments on the ballot before they do so in the booth.
Voters have cast an average of of 3,450 ballots a day in the first four days of early voting since Monday, compared to an average of 2,845 in 2016 and 2,220 a day in 2020.
The higher numbers are due in part to the increase in eligible voters. There were 91,916 registered voters in 2020. There are 96,750 eligible voters in this election, 4,834 more than in the 2020 general election, a 5.2 percent increase. There were 79,349 registered voters in 2016.
And in fact in terms of proportions, a slightly greater share of voters–3.59 percent a day–voted in the first four days of early voting in 2016 than the 3.57 percent daily share voting in this election.
The difference is in mail-in ballots: In 2016, mail-in ballots accounted for 13,410 of the total ballots cast, or 16.9 percent. In 2020, that rose to 31,881, or 44 percent of all ballots cast. So far in this election, 15,835 ballots have been cast by mail.
Registered Republicans have cast 16,400 ballots so far, compared to 9,090 for registered Democrats and 6,000 for independents and voters registered with small parties.
“Lines have been long and I am so thankful for the great turnout, and also thankful that voters have been very patient,” Supervisor of Elections Kaiti Lenhart said today, reporting no major incidents. “Unfortunately, the majority of our polling places are small and have limited parking available. The meeting room at the Flagler County Public Library is our smallest early voting location, and the most popular. We added equipment and workers to all Palm Coast locations on Tuesday and Wednesday, we are doing the best we can with the space available.”
Lenhart added: “I have been advocating for larger polling places for years, but we just do not have a large convention center with adequate parking for a high-turnout election. In fact, we have completely outgrown our space here at the Elections Office. Our polling room is less than 1,200 sqft which can only accommodate 25 voters at a time.”
There are five early-voting locations this year. Lenhart opened the fifth at the Southern Recreation Center off Belle Terre Parkway. The two most popular locations remain the public library and the Community Center, both off Palm Coast Parkway. Each location has drawn over 4,000 voters so far. The supervisor’s office is a close third, with 3,500 votes. The Southern Recreation Center has drawn 2,300 and the Flagler Beach United Methodist Church on South Daytona Avenue, still the best bet for those who don;t like to wait in line, has drawn 1,600.
Across Florida, more than 3.3 million voters have cast ballots so far, in a state with 14 million registered voters. You can see the registration breakdown by county and by party affiliation here.
Early voting is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Nov. 2. The locations are as follows:
- Flagler County Elections Supervisor’s Office, Government Services Building, 1769 East Moody Boulevard, Bunnell.
- Flagler County Public Library, 2500 Palm Coast Pkwy NW, Palm Coast.
- Palm Coast Community Center, 305 Palm Coast Parkway NE.
- Palm Coast’s Southern Recreation Center, 1290 Belle Terre Parkway.
- Flagler Beach United Methodist Church, 1520 South Daytona Avenue, Flagler Beach.
See a sample ballot here. See the Live Interviews with all local candidates below.
