The deadline to register to vote in this election is Oct. 7
BY MARK J. CRAWFORD
Telegraph Editor
With a hard-fought and deeply divisive presidential race at the top of the ballot plus a few controversial initiatives, the 2024 election is one of the most anticipated in history.
In Bradford County, the final local races come down to two: the countywide race for superintendent of schools between incumbent Will Hartley and Alan Bhajan, and the District 1 race between incumbent county commissioner Carolyn Spooner and Shannon Smith, who currently sits on the Starke City Commission. Hartley and Smith are Republicans, Spooner is a Democrat and Bhajan’s campaign is nonpartisan.
Starke voters are also being polled on an amendment to remove the position of police chief from the city charter, and Hampton voters are being asked to approve a “comprehensively reworded” version of the city charter.
Topics for amendments to the Florida Constitution include restoring abortion rights, legalizing marijuana, making school board races partisan, preserving the right to hunt and fish, adjusting homestead exemption amounts for inflation and repealing public campaign financing for state elections.
In addition to the presidential race where the leading candidates are Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, there are also races for U.S. Senate and Congress. The incumbents, both Republicans are Rick Scott and Kat Cammack. They are running against Democrats Debbie Murcarsel-Powell and Tom Wells, respectively.
The Circuit 8 state attorney race is between incumbent Brian Kramer, a Republican, and Yvens Pierre-Antoine. Incumbent Chuck Brannan is running again as a Republican for state representative, District 10, against Bobby Brady.
There are also a handful of judicial retention questions for Florida Supreme Court justices Renatha Francis and Meredith Sasso, and appeals court judges Stephanie Ray, Bradford Thomas and M. Kemmerly Thomas.
Election Day is Nov. 5, with early voting from Oct. 21-Nov. 3. The election is open to all eligible voters. The deadline to register to vote in this election is Oct. 7, and you can do so online by visiting www.votebradfordfl.gov.
To vote in person, go to your polling location on Election Day from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. or to the courthouse on one of the early voting days from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Photo and signature identification are required. To vote on Election Day, you must vote in the precinct of your legal residence. Your precinct is listed on your voter registration card.
Updated voter registration cards were mailed when redistricting altered voting precincts. If you need to update your address, do so by calling the elections office at 904-966-6266.
Registered voters may also vote by mail by calling the office or signing up at www.votebradfordfl.gov. The deadline to request a mail ballot is Oct. 24 for the general election.
Signatures on file with the elections office are used to verify vote-by-mail ballots, candidate and petitions for candidates and ballot initiatives. If your signature has changed, you can update it at the elections office or by mailing an updated voter registration.
For information, visit www.votebradfordfl.gov.
