Voting turnout in Sarasota climbs above 2016 primary

Polls opened Tuesday morning at 7 a.m. across Sarasota County for primary elections.

Voter turnout in Sarasota County is already exceeding the 2016 primary, which had 26.1% turnout. At noon, the Supervisor of Elections office noted turnout that combines early in-person voting, mail-ballot voting and Tuesday morning in-person voting, turnout had already reached 27%.

Thanks to increased registration numbers, raw vote totals are above 89,000 this year vs. 76,719 in 2016.

Polling stations will remain open until 7 p.m.

This is the first full election cycle held after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The primary is novel for reasons other than the coronavirus, too. In 2018, Sarasota voters approved two referendums changing the mechanisms for electing city and county commissioners; 2020 is the first time those changes will be in place.

For voters unsure of where to cast a ballot, click the link to learn which precinct to report to.