Early voting to begin Aug. 18 for primaries

Five locations offered around the county

Image from the Supervisor of Elections Office website on July 30

Early voting for the Aug. 28 Primary Election will begin on Saturday, Aug. 18, and continue through Saturday, Aug. 25, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily, Sarasota County Supervisor of Elections Ron Turner has announced.

Hours will be 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily at the three

Supervisor of Elections offices: in Sarasota (2001 Adams Lane), Venice (4000 Tamiami Trail S.), and North Port (13640 Tamiami Trail), as well as at the Westfield Sarasota Square Mall (8201 S. Tamiami Trail), or at the North Sarasota Library (2801 Newtown Boulevard), a news release says.

Florida law requires a voter to present a current and valid photo and signature ID prior to voting, the news release points out. “A voter who appears at a polling location without photo and signature ID will be allowed to vote a provisional ballot,” the release says.

“During this primary election, every registered voter may vote,” the release points out. However, political party affiliation will affect which races and candidates appear on ballots. “Florida has closed primaries, which means that voters must be registered with a political party in order to vote in a party’s primary election,” the release explains. All registered voters, whether affiliated with a political party or not, can vote on issues and nonpartisan candidates, such as candidates for school board and judicial offices, in a primary election.

To confirm their party affiliation, voters may visit SarasotaVotes.com and select the interactive Voter Lookup link under “Voter Information” in the menu on the home page.

Voters who have questions may contact the Supervisor of Elections Office at 861-8619.