About 750 Alachua County voters cast their ballots on the first day of early voting Monday.
“Early voting is getting off to a good start,” said Pam Carpenter, supervisor of elections for Alachua County.
Carpenter said she expects ballots to start slowly coming in larger numbers.
Three sites are designated for early voting: the Millhopper Branch Library, the Tower Road Branch Library and the County Administration Building.
Carpenter estimated that up to 40 percent of voters in the county will vote early this year in person or with an absentee ballot.
In the last governor’s race in 2006, only about 19 percent of those who voted had voted early.
Carpenter said more people are interested in early voting because it allows them to select a time that fits into their schedule.
And having enough time may be a particular concern to voters this year because this year’s ballot consists of about two dozen races, six constitutional amendments, six county amendments, one citizen initiative ordinance and one opinion poll. The ballot consists of two 18-inch-long pages.
“I expected people to make a lot of mistakes because it’s such a big ballot,” said Lloyd Smith, a clerk for the supervisor of elections.
The number of races on the ballot depends on a voter’s address. For example, people who live in State House District 23 will not have a district race because incumbent democrat Chuck Chestnut is running unopposed. But people who live in Archer or High Springs will have an additional race.
The six state constitutional amendments, which were placed on the ballot by the state legislature or a statewide citizen petition, cover issues like land use, redistricting and education.
The six county charter amendments include an amendment limiting municipal power and an amendment to replace the board of county commissioners with a board of charter commissioners.
Carpenter said she hopes that upcoming public events near the downtown voting site, such as the the Gainesville Pride Festival, will bring in more early voters. Early Voting is open Mondays through Fridays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Sundays from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.; and on the last day of early voting, Saturday, Oct. 30 until 5 p.m. Election Day is Nov. 2.
