BY MARK J. CRAWFORD
Early voting for the Aug. 20 primary begins next week in Bradford County.
Early voting for the primary will be available from Aug. 5–18, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. If you’re going to take advantage of early voting, you will go to the commission meeting room in the north wing of the Bradford County Courthouse.
To vote by mail, request a ballot by calling the elections office at 904-966-6266 or visiting the website at www.votebradfordfl.gov. The deadline to request a ballot by mail for the primary is Aug. 8.
There is a lot you can do at the elections website, including view a sample ballot, enter your address to determine your voting precinct or sign up to vote by mail.
Voting precincts will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. the day of the primary. There have been some changes due to redistricting. Polling locations now include Lawtey Community Center, Heilbronn Springs Baptist Church, Starke Church of God by Faith, Bayless Highway Baptist Church, Bradford Senior Center, Madison Street Baptist Church, Starke Golf and Country Club, Sampson City Church of God, Theressa Community Center, Hampton City Hall, Keystone United Methodist multi-ministry building and Brooker Community Center. Where you vote on election day is determined by where you live.
In addition to candidates for the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, Bradford Republicans will be selecting their candidate for superintendent of schools — incumbent Will Hartley or his challenger, Tracy Kendrick. The winner of this race will continue running in November.
Democrats have Senate candidates to choose from.
All District 5 voters regardless of party will be voting for a county commissioner. Competing in the open primary are incumbent Diane Andrews and challenger Brian Outlaw.
The nonpartisan race on the ballot is for District 4 school board member. Incumbent Candace Osteen is running against Dana Bell and Mitchell Gunter.
You can find contact information to reach out to candidates at www.votebradfordfl.gov or attend one of the upcoming forums sponsored by the local Republican and Democratic executive committees.
Early voting in Union
In Union County, early voting takes place in the Supervisor of Elections Office at 175 W. Main St. in Lake Butler. The dates are Aug. 10-17 from 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
Local races include clerk of court between Kellie Hendricks Rhoades and District 3 county commissioner between Chad Ali, Shelton Arnold Jr., Melissa McNeal, Ed Rainey, Daniel Tomlinson and Martie Touchstone. These will be open primaries. The clerk’s race is countywide. The commission race is single district.
For more information, go to www.unionflvotes.com or call 386-496-2236.
