Your quarterly news & updates from the Supervisor of Elections Office |
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From Supervisor Chambless
“Voting is the expression of our commitment to ourselves, one another, this country, and this world."
― Sharon Salzberg
Often, voter turnout is used to judge our success. While we always prepare for 100% turnout, we know that the 25.31% turnout in the August Primary is much more likely. Despite our best efforts, we cannot force voters to invest in the process. If participation doesn’t equal success, what does?
Do we make registration available? Yes. Any eligible voter can register (or even pre-register) in person at our office, at the libraries, the Tax Collector’s office, as well as most government buildings. There is also the option of registering online with a Florida DL or ID Card. We also participate in various community events like the Fair and next month’s Fall Festival, where you may register or update your voter information.
Is the ballot available? Yes. Sample Ballots are available on our website and they’re printed in the paper. We also mail them out to every voter, without a Vote by Mail request, prior to the start of Early Voting. When voting, there are three ways to cast your ballot. You can request a Vote by Mail ballot, you can Vote Early, or you can Vote on Election Day. When you vote in person, we prepare for 100% turnout every time.
Is the ballot accessible to all? Yes. Again, any registered voter can request a Vote by Mail ballot. Every Early Vote site and polling location has an ExpressVote- the ADA machine- available to anyone who would like to use it. This year, we also implemented Enhanced Ballot. This is an accessible Vote by Mail system that is fully compatible with personal assistive devices. This accessibility means all voters can cast their ballots independently and securely.
Do we notate all Canvassing Board events? Yes. Not only are we required by Florida law to publish these events, but we welcome the public to them. You can attend the Logic and Accuracy Test that ensures the machines are tabulating and recording votes correctly before every election. You can watch the opening process for Vote by Mail ballots and learn more about the secure processes in place. Better yet, you can volunteer and be a part of it!
So, while we would love a 100% turnout, that’s not the only measurement we use for success. As the saying goes, you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink. Voting requires an investment in yourself, your community, and the process itself. We make every effort to keep voters informed of election dates, rule changes, options for voting, etc., but we can only encourage you to participate.
Chris
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#TrustedInfo2022 Campaign |
The Elections Office has joined the Florida Supervisors of Elections (FSE), along with the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) in the #TrustedInfo2022 voter education effort. The campaign promotes state and local election officials as the trusted sources for election information.
The goal is to ensure the integrity of Florida’s elections and to support fair, honest, and accurate elections in the State of Florida. As elections professionals, we’re committed to being the official trusted sources of election-related information in Florida. While there is a lot of information about voting and elections on the internet and social media, not all of it is credible. The Florida Department of State and Clay County Supervisor of Elections Office is your source for verified election information.
Watch the video below of our 2022 Elections Expo, which gave guests an overview of our numerous security processes.
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2022 Primary Election Turnout |
Tuesday, August 23 was Primary Election Day and we had an overall turnout of 25.31%.
40,843 ballots were cast in total. While 17,840 voters turned out on Election Day, 56.3% of the vote took place before then.
Vote by Mail beat out Early Voting by 2,993 ballots, but Election Day was still the most popular way to vote.
Let's keep it going for the General!
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Did you know that Florida statute requires us to conduct an audit after every election? For the 2022 Primary, we conducted a pilot program that ran in parallel to gain experience using an innovative tool. Clear Audit is an independent auditing system. In future elections, Clear Audit will tabulate and verify the election tabulation system’s ballots to verify the results and add another layer of transparency to our process. Watch the video below to learn more.
This new technology is exciting and we see it as one more weapon against the vast amount of misinformation that continues to surround elections. Remember to go straight to the source, ClayElections.gov, for verified election information and #TrustedInfo2022.
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According to Florida Statute, the Secretary of State is responsible for ordering a machine recount in federal, state, and multicounty races when the unofficial returns reflect that two candidates are within one-half of a percent (0.5%) of each other. Candidates LaShonda Holloway and Tony Hill were separated by 206 votes across the entire district.
Based on this, and the unofficial results, Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd ordered a machine recount of the votes cast to determine the Democratic candidate for District 4. The newly drawn Congressional District 4 spans three counties in North Florida: Clay, Nassau, and part of Duval.
Clay County's machine recount was held on Saturday, August 27 and we welcomed several observers as we sorted over 8,000 ballots and then ran them through our high-speed tabulators. Our recount was completed in eight hours and resulted in one less vote for Holloway and one vote was added as an overvote- a change of 0.0001%. The results were confirmed and the official report is available at the link below.
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General Election Dates
General Election Day- November 8, 2022
Last day to register to vote is October 11, 2022
Early Voting- October 28 - November 5
All seven locations open 8 AM - 6 PM daily
Secure Ballot Intake Stations "Drop Boxes" available inside all Early Vote sites during Early Vote dates/hours.
Deadline to request VBM ballot- Oct. 29
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Need to Register to Vote? |
If you're new to Florida, or have never been registered to vote, now's the time! The deadline to register for the November 8 General is October 11.
Registering to vote only takes a few minutes, you can even do it online! Or pick up a paper registration form at any public library, Tax Collector's office, or our office in Green Cove Springs.
We encourage all voters to check their status and make any changes or updates prior to voting.
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Voting by Mail continues to grow in popularity. It's not hard to realize why. Vote by Mail ballots allow you time to research the races and amendments- and vote from the comfort of your couch!
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You can't beat the convenience of Early Voting! For the General Election, we'll have Early Voting from Friday, October 28 through Saturday, November 5. All seven of our sites are open from 8 AM to 6 PM daily. Vote at any Early Vote location, on a day and time that works with your schedule!
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Election Day remains the most popular way to vote. Many people enjoy the tradition of voting on Election Day with their neighbors! General Election Day is Tuesday, November 8. Polls are open from 7 AM to 7 PM. Remember, on Election Day you must vote at your assigned precinct.
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Handwriting changes over time. If you have noticed a change in your handwriting, and particularly your signature, please update your signature with the Elections Office. It's important that we have your current signature on file because it's used to verify your Vote by Mail ballot and/or candidate and initiative petitions. If your signature has changed, you may update it at any time by submitting a new Voter Registration Application.
Signature updates can be made at any time, but must be received before Vote by Mail ballots are canvassed in order to be accepted for an election. (F.S. 98.077)
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There's no doubt that a major part of our success is our Election Workers! Working at the polls is a great way to serve your community and to learn more about the elections process. It's a long, but extremely rewarding day. Thank you for your dedication, professionalism, and for continuing to serve the voters of Clay County.
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Training Classes Have Started |
Our Election Worker Coordinator, Stacey Whitehead has barely had a chance to breathe before we're jumping right back in to Election Worker training!
Classes have already began for the General Election. All Election Workers are required to attend training before each election. It also gives us time to review any hiccups in the Primary and answer any questions.
Though we're lucky to have a fantastic group of Election Workers who return again and again, we're always looking to recruit new people- especially as the county grows bigger and bigger! If you or someone you know may be interested, please contact Stacey!
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Deputies are tasked with maintaining order outside the precinct. They play a vital role during Early Voting and on Election Day. Deputies set up the required signage outside, mark the no solicitation zone, and assist with the setup/breakdown of the equipment.
Here are pictures of Deputy Training and Sheriff Michelle Cook swearing in our Deputies before the Primary Election in August.
If you're interested in becoming an Election Worker, please visit www.ClayElections.gov and click on the "Election Workers & Volunteers" tab. You can learn more about the various positions and fill out the application.
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We partnered with K9s For Warriors for our Primary Voter Guide. Cooper, pictured here, is one of the over 1,500 dogs that have been rescued and trained as Service Dogs.
Determined to end veteran suicide, K9s For Warriors provides highly-trained Service Dogs to military veterans suffering from PTSD, traumatic brain injury and/or military sexual trauma. With the majority of dogs coming from high-kill rescue shelters, this innovative program allows the K9/Warrior team to build an unwavering bond that facilitates their collective healing and recovery. This treatment method is backed by scientific research (from Purdue University’s OHAIRE Lab) demonstrating Service Dogs’ ability to help mitigate their veteran’s symptoms of PTSD while simultaneously restoring their confidence and independence.
With Clay County's proud military history, and the many military families who are part of our community, it was a natural choice to celebrate our veterans and highlight the incredible work that K9s For Warriors is doing.
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The Federated Republican Women of Clay County contacted our office to conduct a straw poll before the Primary Election. A straw poll is an unofficial vote taken to determine opinion on an issue or candidate.
We created an online ballot, using the same program we have for Sunshine State Young Readers Awards. Several booths were setup with laptops for voting. Then we checked in voters and assigned each person a unique Voter ID number that could only be entered once. The secure login led voters to their online ballot where they could easily make their choices and submit it. Results were posted later that evening.
Supervisor Chambless was able to take a few minutes to speak to the group about voting trends in Florida. He provided information about Sample Ballots and the three ways to vote and answered questions from attendees.
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GCSJH Naturalization Ceremony |
On August 19,Green Cove Springs Junior High, in partnership with the United States District Court, Middle District of Florida, and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), hosted a Naturalization Ceremony. 47 people from across Florida were welcomed as new American citizens.
Over 50 student leaders took part in the ceremony, as families, students, faculty members, and invited guests witnessed the Honorable Marcia Morales Howard, United States District Judge, administer the Oath of Allegiance.
After the ceremony, the Elections Office provided the new citizens with the opportunity to register to vote. Thanks for letting us be part of such an incredible moment!
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Secretary Byrd Visits SOE |
The new Secretary of State, Cord Byrd, paid our office a visit in June. Supervisor Chambless led him on a short tour of our facility and showed him around our warehouse. They also discussed our preparations for election season and the safeguards and security we have in place.
We look forward to a strong partnership and a shared commitment to secure, accurate, and fair elections. Thank you for visiting!
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Kirby Wedekind, from Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), gave a presentation to our entire staff on de-escalation techniques. De-escalation is the act of making a situation less dangerous or difficult.
We reviewed how and why someone may become disruptive. He gave examples of potential stressors, changes in baseline behaviors, and observable physical and behavioral indicators and went over tips to stay calm and safely disengage from potentially threatening situations.
We appreciate Kirby taking the time to teach us. While our office has never had any threats or issues, we always believe in being prepared. It's also a great reminder to have empathy for everyone and to check in with our friends and family.
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Voter Services
With Redistricting finished, we mailed out new Voter Information Cards to every registered voter in Clay County. With that mailing, plus Vote by Mail ballots, Early Voting, and Election Day, the phones have been ringing steadily!
There's also our regular list maintenance activities, processing petitions and new registration forms. We take time to review and tweak our procedures in between the Primary and General. The volume and activity picks up too as the phones ring and voters drop off mail ballots and stop by to ask questions.
There's no shortage of tasks to complete, or questions to answer, but we're always happy to speak to voters, so they feel prepared with the correct information to cast their ballot any way they choose. With the Primary over, we're primed and ready for the General Election!
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Our warehouse is always busy busy busy! But during equipment setup- watch out! It's a well-orchestrated dance, with the Elections Services team and our County Workers loading cages, EViDs, DS 200s, and all our supplies into moving trucks.
Once everything comes back, then it's a blur of cleaning, restocking, and getting ready to turn around and do it again for the General! Not to mention coding ballots, testing equipment, and fine-tuning our procedures in just a few short weeks.
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Happy Anniversary
Chris..........24 years
Jim.............10 years
Stacey........2 years
Heather......1 year*
*Denotes full-time employment
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Happy Birthday
Jim...............6/19
Leslie...........6/11
Anthony.......6/29
Rick..............6/26
Chris............7/5
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