BY DAN HILDEBRAN
Clay County’s Supervisor of Elections said he was appalled by the 18.89% voter turnout during the August 20 primary and warned a Lake Region civic club that if they value their privilege of voting, they better exercise that right.
Chris Chambless told the Keystone Heights Rotary Club that the average turnout in a primary election is 26%.
“That’s a 22-year average, so it was well below that.,” he said of the turnout.
The elections supervisor went down the excuses people give for skipping the primary.
“People say, well, Chris, I just normally vote in the presidential election, the big one,” Chambless said, repeating a common excuse. “Well, the truth is most of the things that affect us day-in and day-out happen in local government. And so, I only have three words to that: shame on you.”
The elections chief said some residents incorrectly claim they don’t have the opportunity to speak up about local issues.
“The truth is, if they took part in local elections to where they elected their representation— See, we’re a representative form of government, and if you really wanted to have a say, then you need to elect somebody that you entrust to make the decisions based upon your ideals and beliefs,” he said. “And if they don’t, then you need to look for somebody else. It’s simple.”
Chambless said another fallacy he has heard about the August 20 primary is that nothing was on the ballot.
Well, the ballot started with a U.S. Senate race,” he argued. “Last I heard, that was pretty important. Then, it ended down at the bottom with the Clay County School Board. Wow, I’ve heard of a lot of things about the Clay County School Board with regard to concern, but yet nobody showed up to vote. We’re talking about 120,000 Clay County voters who deemed it unworthy of their time to cast their ballot. It doesn’t get any worse than that.”
The elections chief argued that the real problem is laziness. He said many Clay County residents live in a bubble where “I’m able to go on vacation once a year and take the Mrs. out to dinner and maybe play a round of golf, then everything’s good in my world, and I don’t care.”
“The republic is not going to last very much longer if we continue this mindset,” he warned. We’ve got to get engaged in the process.”
Chambless added that with a six-page ballot this November, he is concerned about voter fatigue if residents don’t study the ballot initiatives before going to the polls.
“I signed a check last week for sample ballots to go to every single voter in Clay County if they do not have a vote-by-mail request,” he said.
Chambless added that he spent the $51,000 in hopes that voters would study the ballot before election day and make better-informed decisions.
“Hear me,” he added. “There are going to be lines every day during early voting. There are going to be lines on election day. There’s no way around it. And it’s not a lack of participation. It’s this. It’s the lack of preparedness.”
Chambless said voting is worth the wait and added that most people will wait in line longer at an Orlando attraction ride than they will at the polls.
