With some 11,000 votes already turned in by mail so far, early voting in Flagler County began its 13-day run today with brisk turnout but slow lines as a a ballot with two dozen races and a half dozen constitutional and charter amendments took voters time to read and fill out.
In mid-morning, scores of voters formed a long line out the main entrance of the Flagler County Public Library and down a sidewalk toward the main parking lot’s main entrance, ending at the 150-foot marker within which electioneering is not allowed. The line was still growing when it was observed around 10 o’clock. By noon, almost 1,000 early votes had been cast at the county’s five early-voting locations.
The library is the busiest of the five early-voting locations, with 215 ballots cast by noon. The Palm Coast Community Center, where a long line had also formed outside the building, was slightly busier, with 221 ballots cast. The location at the Supervisor of Elections’ office at the Government Services Building in Bunnell, always a busy place in early voting, had tallied 214 votes. The Southern Recreation Center off Belle Terre Parkway, the newest of the early voting locations, was drawing a smaller number of voters, with none spilling out of the building: its 133 ballots cast by noon were about the same total as those cast at the only early voting site on the barrier island, the United Methodist Church on South Daytona Avenue.
To speed things up, poll workers have been distributing brochures explaining th six constitutional amendment proposals on the ballot, so voters can read up on them while in line rather than in the voting booth. (See the guide here: you can read it while in line.)
The line at the library was so quiet, even somber–despite a bright sun and mild temperatures–that it resembled the slow procession of mourners about to pay their respects to someone, or something, lying in state, though that was likely to change as early voting wears on. A Republican booth at the tail end of the line was attempting to pep things up with the playlist cribbed from Donald Trump[s rallies (“YMCA,” “Only in America,” and so on) while one of the volunteers busying up the booth whooped and yelled out lines from the party liturgy (“too big to rig,” that sort of thing.) The Democrats’ booth two steps down was more reserved, if not more dignified, perhaps unaware that dignity no longer wins certain elections.
The line at the Palm Coast Community Center, always bereft of the slightest bit of shade, was even more quiet: no boom box, no whooping, and barely any candidates’ or volunteers’ booths yet.
But it’s too early to draw conclusions from today’s turnout or the mail-in turnout so far. In 2020, an election influenced by the Covid pandemic–mail ballot totals broke records–4.86 million Floridians voted by mail and 4.3 million voted early. In Flagler, 31,756 voted by mail and 28,539 voted early, or almost 2,200 per day voting early. Overall, 77 percent of registered Floridians voted in 2020, and 78.6 percent did so in Flagler. By noon today, turnout in Flagler had gone past 12 percent. There are some 4,000 net new voters in the county since 2020.
In 2020, the first day of early voting tallied 2,003 ballots cast at four locations. The busiest of the 13 days of early voting drew 2,436 voters, the slowest 1,953.
Though Democrats are outpolling Republicans in mail ballots statewide, in Flagler County, where Republicans hold a decisive advantage in registrations, lead in total ballots cast, 4,891 to 4,576 for Democrats (as of noon), with independents and smaller parties tallying 2,350 ballots.
The early voting locations are open every day from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. 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 P:arkway.
- Flagler Beach United Methodist Church, 1520 South Daytona Avenue, Flagler Beach.
Compared to the primary, which drew a very low turnout of 29.2 percent (compared to 30.5 percent in 2020 and 27.1 percent in 2016), the Flagler County election ballot is more sparse, especially for voters outside Palm Coast. Palm Coast voters get to cast votes in three City Council races, including for mayor. But All the county commission races have been decided (Kim Carney and Pam Richardson, who won, appear on the ballot against unnamed–and unserious–write-ins). There are two significant races for East Mosquito Control District, several judicial races, and, at the top of the ballot of course, the presidential race and federal and state legislative contests.
The sample ballot is below. Keep up with the Flagler County Supervisor of Elections’ live turnout numbers here.
2024-general-sample-ballot
