Nearly 1,200 cast early, in-person ballots on Longboat

Early, in-person voting on Longboat Key for two town commission races and a pair of density referendums came to a close on Saturday with a total of nearly 1,200 votes cast.

On Monday morning, town officials reported 1,199 voters cast their early, in-person ballots. Also on Monday, the town reported 1,085 by-mail ballots had been received. In total, 6,344 registered voters are eligible in the current election cycle, which comes to a close when the polls close at 7 p.m. Tuesday. About 36 percent of the town's eligible voters have already cast a ballot. 

On Saturday's final day of early voting, 145 in-person ballots were cast. 

 In an email to the Longboat Observer, Key resident Mike Mullihan described his and his wife’s early voting experience. Not only were the poll works well-organized, he wrote, but they were helpful and friendly as well.

“What an inviting way to vote and feel like you are an important part of the system,” Mullihan wrote. “Voting is a privilege and we vote in each election no matter the topic, but I am proud of the way Longboat respects early voting.”

Town Clerk Trish Granger said participation in early voting, which began on March 6, has been about average this year. She noted that the signs placed up and down the Key reminding residents about early voting have been useful in getting the word out.

On Election Day, polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. On that day, Sarasota County voters may cast their votes at Town Hall while polling for Manatee County voters will be located at Longboat Island Chapel (6200 Gulf of Mexico Drive).  

The ballot includes two races for seats on the Town Commission. Incumbent Jack Daly aims to retain his District 4 seat against Larry Grossman, while Jim Brown and Gene Jaleski vie for the At-Large seat currently held by Vice Mayor Phill Younger.

Two referendums are also on the ballot. The first gives the town the authority to allow construction of 10 residential units on 1.82 vacant acres at 5630 Gulf of Mexico Drive.

The second is the hotly debated referendum regarding the former Colony Beach & Tennis Resort property. The vote will determine whether density may be increased to allow Unicorp National Developments to add 180 residential units to the property’s existing 237 tourism units.