What to know before heading to the polls for Primary Day

The number of Duval, Clay and St. Johns County voters turning out to vote Tuesday is lower than expected by the Superivors of Elections.

And if you’re one of the people hitting the polls today, there are a few things to keep in mind to make sure that experience runs smoothly.

“There are 52 less precincts. You’re precinct out there could be one of the precincts,” says Duval County Supervisor of Elections Jerry Holland.

He says budget constraints caused them to cut back on locations, but the updated information was sent to voters on updated registration cards along with sample ballots. The other common mistake at the polls is forgetting your ID.

“If you want to cast a ballot in the machine on Election Day, you must have one of the nine forms of ID that’s required in the state of Florida,” he says.

Examples of this include a driver’s license, military ID, student ID, or even a credit card which can be used to verify a signature. He says if you forget an ID, you can still vote provisionally and verify your signature after the fact.

Holland says, compared to the 2008 Primary, voting turnout is tracking higher this year. Nearly 17,700 ballots have been filed for early voting and about 20,780 ballots through absentee voting. That accounts for about 7.3% of Duval County’s voting population. Holland was anticipating a 23% turnout for the primary overall, and the numbers so far are tracking in line with that.