Monroe County’s Presidential Preference Primary election WILL take place as scheduled on Tuesday, March 17, according to Supervisor of Elections Joyce Griffin, who said all precincts will be open for voting from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 17.
Coronavirus concerns are expected to impact voter turnout, but to what degree is difficult to predict.
Non-partisan voters, or those unaffiliated with a political party, have just one question to answer on their ballots: Whether to extend the county school district’s flexible funding tax strategy that doesn’t raise taxes at all, but rather shifts money from the district’s construction budget to its operations budget so funds may be used for salaries and other classroom expenses.
Registered Republicans and Democrats, on the other hand, also will be voting for their party’s U.S. presidential candidate.
Griffin has said she does not expect the large crowd sizes at the polls that health officials are warning against, and as such will continue as planned with the election.
But poll workers will have additional health precautions in place, including disinfecting wipes for booths and equipment, and hand sanitizer for voters and poll workers.
As of Sunday, March 15, 10,039 people, or 18.74% of registered voters in Monroe County, had voted early or by mail. Early voting attracted 3,153 people to the elections offices in the two weeks preceding Election Day, and 6,886 people had voted by mail.
For more details about the election, go to keys-elections.org.