‘We will have enough ballots’: Alachua SOE confident primary concerns won’t repeat

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WCJB) - After a ballot debacle at two primary precinct locations, Alachua County’s Supervisor of Elections is confident every voter will get a ballot on General Election Day.

Kim Barton made the claim during an interview on Friday. Barton says the issue of running out of GOP ballots during the primary on Aug. 23 happened due to the separate sheets needed for partisan primary voters, that’s not the case this go-around.

“This is not a primary election, this is a general election so the ballots are not based on party affiliation so every voter will get the same ballot at there precinct. We’ve ordered a significant amount of ballots so voters can be assured that there will be enough ballots,” said Barton.

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Elections office officials also claim procedures were not followed at the precinct impacted by the shortages in August.

One of those problematic primary precincts was Precinct 4, or the Alachua County Agriculture and Equestrian Center in Newberry. Mayor Jordan Marlowe says the dilemma isn’t helping voter republican confidence, which is already a concern after the widespread false “rigged election” claims in 2020.

“It really shakes our confidence and faith. So we have spent a lot of time over the last couple of months talking to our residents saying that we have every hope that this won’t happen again,” said Mayor Marlowe.

The mayor says he reached out to the SOE’s office after the ballot debacle, but the city received no response.

“We hope internally she is aware of the issues and fixing the issues and we can work on our communication later,” said Marlowe.

Barton hopes that residents will take advantage of early voting in the county before election day.

“Election day is not your first opportunity to vote, it’s your last opportunity, it not your first we want to encourage voters to come out and vote early,” said Barton.

SOE officials are still accepting applications for poll workers, but they say they are in “great shape.”

Early voting lasts until Nov. 5 at all early voting locations. Early voting will only be available on Nov. 6 at the Supervisor of Elections Office from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Election day is Nov. 8, polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

For more information about the general election and polling locations in Alachua County click here.

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