Record turnout expected for election

Tuesday’s Nov. 5 general election is already breaking records.

As of Monday in Franklin County, more than 37.5 percent of the county’s 7,240 active eligible voters had cast ballots, with 1,538 casting them at early voting locations at the supervisor of elections office in Apalachicola and at the Carrabelle annex. Another 1,174 had voted by mail.

Supervisor of elections Heather Riley said she expects at minimum a turnout of at least 85 to 87 percent of voters by the time the smoke clears this Tuesday, Nov. 5 at 7 p.m. ET, when Election Day concludes. Early voting ends this Saturday, Nov. 2 at 5:30 p.m.

To no surprise, the greatest turnout so far has been in Precinct 5 in Carrabelle, where Sebrina Brown and Danyell Robison are vying for mayor, and in Precinct 3 in Apalachicola, where Republican Anthony Croom and Democrat Elinor Mount-Simmons are running for a four-year term on the county commission.

Overall, about 1,480 Republicans have cast ballots in the county so far, compared to 818 Democrats.

In Gulf County, the picture is similar, although just over 26,5 percent of the county’s 11,364 active eligible voters had cast ballots as of Monday, 1,924 by early voting at the elections office in Port St. Joe and the library in Wewahitchka. Another 1,098 had voted by mail.

Republicans have voted at a greater clip, with 2,055 casting ballots compared to 677 Democrats.

Turnout was nearly 76 percent in Gulf County for the 2020 election, and Supervisor of Elections John Hanlon said he expects as many if not more this go-round.

In addition to the presidential, U.S senator and U.S. congress contests, and statewide ballot measures regarding access to abortion, recreational marijuana, partisan school board elections and the right to hunt and fish, the election in both counties features ballot measures related to school funding.

In both counties there’s a spirited contest between incumbent Republican Corey Simon, and Democratic challenger Daryl Parks, for a four-year term of the multi-county state senate seat for District 3..

Both counties have fierce contests to fill their open tax collector seats, as Franklin County’s Rick Watson, a Republican, and Gulf County’s Shirley Jenkins, a Democrat, are each retiring.

In Franklin County, Republican Amy Cook, and Teresa Martin, a Republican who is running without party affiliation, are running for the tax collector seat. In Gulf County, Democrat Candye Lewis and Republican Ashley Forehand are battling for the job.