Sarasota County Election Day turnout more than 36%

More than 40,000 voters went to the polls Tuesday for in-person balloting, the final opportunity to cast primary election preferences, according to the Sarasota County Supervisor of Elections office. 

In total, by 7:11 p.m., 127,681 ballots had been cast by voters either by mail or in-person at voting precincts today or in the week of early voting that closed Sunday. 

Among the key races on the ballot: 

• Three winner-take-all races for the Sarasota County School Board;
• Primaries for two open Sarasota County Commission seats;
• An elimination round of elections for two at-large seats on the Sarasota City Commission, pitting six candidates for three ballot spots in November; and
• A range of statewide and federal offices, including governor, U.S. Senate, State House and State Senate.

According to the Supervisor of Elections, 68,796 voters mailed in ballots; 15,441 voted early and 43,444 had voted on Tuesday before polls closed at 7 p.m. 

Precinct 233 at Sarasota Baptist Church on Proctor Road had attracted the most Election Day traffic, with 2,205 people.

Turnout stood at 36.53% countywide with about 62,000 Republican-registered voters taking part and 46,973 Democrats and 18,655 people with either no party affiliation or an affiliation with another party.

According to the Election Supervisor's office, the busiest hour was in the 5-6 p.m. time frame during which nearly 5,000 voters checked in.