Longboat Key voters revel in the Election Day tradition

Longboat Key voters showed up in droves on Tuesday morning at the island’s two polling locations.

When the polls opened at 7 a.m., the line of people at Town Hall’s Precinct 201 wrapped around onto Bay Isles Road despite temperatures in the upper 50s.

Voters wore masks because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many voters had apparel with American flags, shirts with their preferred candidates and jackets to account for the chilly weather.

Longboat Key Club golf director Terry O’Hara cast his ballot at Longboat Island Chapel’s Precinct 309, which also had a line of people out the door early Tuesday morning.

“I think today is one of those days where it’s sort of like your birthday, you want to celebrate it on the day you were born,” O’Hara said. “It’s sort of like going to the Kentucky Derby. You wouldn’t want to go to the Kentucky Derby like a week before you get there.”

Lines died down Tuesday morning at both polling locations after about an hour with a steady influx of voters in and out.

“This was probably the craziest election we ever had to face in all the years I’ve been around,” O’Hara said. “I’m 57 years old, and I just think that this country right now is kind of in the middle of a split crossroads.”

Longboat Key resident Laura Pacelli had a good reason for choosing to vote in-person Tuesday instead of voting early.

“I’m right down the street, so it was very easy,” Pacelli said. “My husband had voted earlier and waited in line for like 45 minutes down in Manatee [County], so this is perfect.”

While Manatee and Sarasota counties offered early voting to registered voters from Oct. 19 through Nov. 1, they would have had to go to locations on the mainland instead of getting to vote in Longboat Key.

Angell’s Total Management Services owner Carol Angell said it was her personal preference to vote in-person.

“Since I voted, I’ve always come in person because I love this excitement and to share this with other people,” Angell said. “I just think it’s important that we get our voted counted on the day.”

Longboat resident Richard Hastings said Tuesday was the easiest voting experience he’s had. He said he did not vote early because he lives part-time in North Carolina.

“I enjoyed the voting experience today,” Hastings said. “I feel like it’s my civic duty. It went smoothly.”

Representatives passing out literature to voters from the Republican Club of Longboat Key and from the Longboat Key Democratic Club expressed similar sentiments about Tuesday’s election.

“I think that it’s important for everybody to make sure they vote because the future of the country is going to change drastically,” said Longboat Key Democratic Club precinct captain Arlene Skversky.

“I hope can get through tonight and the rest of this election process peacefully,” said Republican Club of Longboat Key Vice President Scott Gray. “If the Republican president loses, then I hope there is a smooth transition of power. If he wins, I hope there is a respect for that.”