Santa Rosa County Supervisor of Elections Tappie Villane, during last night’s Milton City Council, explained important information rearding the upcoming the March 19 Presidential Preference Primary.
A total of 7 Republican candidates were certified by Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd and will appear on the GOP ballot, per Villane. U.S. President Joe Biden was the only candidate presented to and certified by Byrd; therefore, he was deemed elected, and registered Florida Democrats will not vote in the Presidential Preference Primary. Persons registered NPA or belonging to a minor party, such as independent, will also note be voting in this primary.
Villane said due to the February 19 President’s Day federal holiday, books for the March 19 election will close February 20, which will be the last day to register to vote or change parties ahead of the Presidential Preference Primary.
Villane went on to say there will be 3 ways to cast a ballot:
(1) Vote By Mail – due to a change in state requirements, voters who want to vote via mail must request this option for each election cycle (one request is sufficient for this year’s elections) and should contact Villane’s office to provide necessary identification no later than 5 p.m. on the 12th day prior to March 19;
(2) Early Voting – will take place from 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. from March 4-16 at the following locations:
- Main Elections Office at 6495 Caroline St., Suite “F” in Milton
- South Service Center at 5841 Gulf Breeze Pkwy., Gulf Breeze
- Tiger Point Community Center 1370 Tiger Park Ln., Gulf Breeze
- Pace Community Center – 5976 Chumuckla Hwy., Pace
- Santa Rosa County Auditorium – 4530 Spikes Way, Milton
- Navarre Community Gym – 8840 High School Blvd., Navarre
(3) Election Day – polls will be open from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. at each voters’ respective precincts.
For more information visit http://votesantarosa.gov or call 850-983-1900.
Voting records show that as of today there are 134,883 registered voters in Santa Rosa County, including:
- 83,105 Republicans (~62%);
- 30,821 Other (~22.5%); and
- 20,957 Democrats (15.5%).