Action taken as result of study pursued in response to growth in the community
The Sarasota County Supervisor of Elections Office has revised a total of 12 voting precincts and added nine new polling locations in advance of the 2024 election cycle, Supervisor of Elections Ron Turner announced on Jan. 16.
“At the conclusion of the 2022 General Election, Turner asked elections office staff to begin studying each of Sarasota County’s 99 voting precincts to assess voter population size,” a news release explains. “With continued growth in the county, Turner wanted to ensure that voters continue to have convenient and efficient access to the voting process.
“The study resulted in the creation and/or revision of precincts 106, 128, 311, 312, 313, 314, 417, 425, 430, 501, 527 and 543,” the release says. With the changes, there are a total of 103 precincts in Sarasota County, it notes.
“Statistically speaking, Sarasota County has been recognized as one of the nation’s fastest growing regions,” Turner said in the release. “One of my jobs is to understand where the growth is occurring and plan accordingly, so voters have a positive experience in the voting booth.”
Along with the revised voting precincts, the release points out, the elections office added nine polling locations in high-growth areas of the county. Turner also purchased new voting equipment and plans to hire extra poll workers to meet demand, the release continues.
“This project took more than a year to complete from start to finish. It was time-consuming, but ultimately, it was worthwhile,” Turner said. “We have more than 320,000 registered voters in Sarasota County, so expanding our capacity to ensure voters have a smooth voting experience is a major priority,” he added in the release.
“Any voter whose precinct and/or polling location has changed will receive a notification in the mail from the elections office in the coming weeks,” the release points out.
“Turner reminds voters that 2024 will be a busy election year, with the March 19 Presidential Preference Primary kicking things off. He also wants voters to know that this presidential primary will be for registered Republican voters only since Florida is a closed primary state,” the release adds.
Individuals have until Tuesday, Feb. 20, to register to vote or to update their party affiliation.
For more information, visit SarasotaVotes.gov or call 941-861-8600.