Early voting begins at Lakewood Ranch Town Hall

Line of voters stretched around Lakewood Ranch Town Hall on first day of early voting.

By Brendan Lavell
| 10:00 p.m. October 19, 2020

(From left) Fernando Bravo, Jane White, Theresa Sanders and Charlie Sanders wait in line to vote at Lakewood Ranch Town Hall on Monday. The line snaked around the building and through the back door.

East County
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Early voting began in Florida Monday, meaning residents could go to some local polling places and fill out ballots in person or drop off mailed ballots. The line at Lakewood Ranch Town Hall stretched around the building for much of the day. The drop-off ballot box was filled to the brim and subsequently emptied at least twice by 1:30 p.m.

(From left) Donna Evans, Hilary Rypchinski, Charles Brown and Chris Geeslin wait in line to vote at Lakewood Ranch Town Hall on Monday. The line leads to the porch and through the back door. Once inside, people cast their votes.

All Florida counties are required to offer early voting from Oct. 24 through Oct. 31 this year. Manatee County offers early voting every day it is allowed, Oct. 19 through Nov. 1. Notably, this does not include Nov. 2, the day before Election Day.

There's been one change made to the voting procedure at Lakewood Ranch Town Hall. In the past, voters lined up and came through the front door. For this election, the line will lead to the back door on the porch. The ballot box for dropping off mailed ballots is also on the back porch.