Early primary voting fires up

Early voting got off to a smooth start today, with thousands of Floridians casting ballots for Florida’s primaries.

“This really takes the pressure off for Election Day,” said Hillsborough County Elections Supervisor Buddy Johnson. “Early voting is so new, the archival information is just not large enough to make an extrapolation about what it means for voter turnout, but it’s extremely popular.”

Johnson said the process was moving smoothly at 13 early voting locations across Hillsborough.   

In Brevard County, assistant Elections Supervisor Duwayne Lundgren said there was one minor problem when a key to a ballot-scanning machine was missing, but the delay was only about three minutes. He said things were running smoothly at five locations in the county.

A spot-check of elections offices across the state also showed heavy demand for mailed ballots this year. Voter interest is usually higher in presidential years, and voter registration figures released Sunday night showed a gain of 415,000 voters statewide over the past seven months.   

Some candidates used the occasion to grab a little free publicity, by showing up with their families and crowds of supporters to vote on the first day of pre-primary balloting. Campaign strategists also like the method because it allows party volunteers to vote early and be free on Election Day to work for their candidates.

Operating hours and days vary from county to county, but early voting is generally available at county courthouses and satellite locations during normal business hours and for eight hours next weekend. Leon County Elections Supervisor Ion Sancho said weekend operations can be either Saturday or Sunday, or four hours on each day, depending on a county’s staffing demands.   

Early voting ends on Sunday, Aug. 24, so elections offices can use the Monday before the primary date to distribute machinery and get ready for the big day.

Needelman ‘facts’ differ from reality

Smear campaign backfires

The clerk’s race is probably one of the most interesting races this year because we have Republican Mitch Needelman, who has a strong legislative background, trying to take out Republican incumbent Scott Ellis.

In addition to turning around the Clerk’s office when he took over, Ellis has been an outspoken advocate for the taxpayers of Brevard County during his eight year tenure as Clerk of the Courts.
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You Have The Power

Your votes this year will have a massive impact on the direction our community takes going forward.

I have been telling you how much of an impact you are going to be able to have in the upcoming election. It is becoming more apparent all the time. There is a real opportunity to make positive change in our government at all levels. Read more

Brevard County Faces Dramatic Decrease in Property Tax Revenue

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Years ago, as the real estate bubble was expanding, we were all introduced to the “subprime mortgage.” It was a mortgage issued to someone of less than prime credit rating and, like the prime mortgages, it allowed for an adjustable interest rate beginning with extremely low teaser rates, interest only loans, and other exotic financing arrangements. Consider the following chart regarding mortgage interest resets and notice the amount of subprime mortgage resets in 2008. Read more

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