JaxVotes – News4Jax’s Election Blog

The Clay County Republican Executive Committee says its volunteers made more phone calls to support McCain than any other committee in the nation.

Voters in Clay County today say thank-you to the early voters. The countyu says 120,656 registered to vote. 44 percent voted early and that’s why the lines are not long. The county says it may be on track to break its record for voter turnout. 88 percent or more will break the record. Do you think it will happen in Clay?

I just spoke with Chris Chambless who is the Asst. Supervisor of Elections in Clay County. He says all of the polling sites opened on time. The lines are not bad – even at the bigger polling sites. The county is expecting a mad rush of voters to hit the polls after work and lines may pick up during lunch.

I’ve seen a number of parents bringing their kids to the polls today to show them the voting process. One family says they do this for each and every election. The son is only 13 months but they felt it was important to get him started young. The parents say they want to set a good example.

I am at a polling place on Blanding Ave in Clay County. There are about 70 people waiting in line to vote but it’s moving fairly quick. The first woman in line got here at 5:30 am. She was shocked that more people weren’t already here. Poll workers were also surprised. They expect it will still be busy today, but say the huge early voting turnout will help.

Poll workers at the Neptune Branch Library are reporting techical issues with the machines, which is causing part of the backup. Many people are leaving the line and say the will try to vote tomorrow. Poll workers say the problem should be fixed soon. I hope so…since I just got to the front of the line.

There is an hour long wait to vote at the Neptune Branch library. Poll workers say this is the longest line they’ve seen.