| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | For More Information Contact | |
| October 01, 2012 | (941) 861-8606 | |
| Media Alert | ||
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General election sample ballots now available on supervisor of elections (SOE) website |
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| SARASOTA, FL - Sample ballots for the November 6, 2012 General Election are now available on the supervisor of elections (SOE) website at www.SarasotaVotes.com Voters may go to the website and select the “Precinct Finder” icon at the top of the home page or click on the “personalized sample ballot” link in the “News Briefs” section and follow the easy instructions to view a personalized sample ballot. Dent is urging voters to take time to carefully study the ballot, which is packed with candidate races, constitutional amendments and local referenda. Longest ballot in Sarasota County history She said the ballot will be extremely long - two 17” pages, front and back - and will contain 11 proposed amendments to the Florida Constitution, dealing with everything from health care services, to homestead exemptions, to religious freedom. In addition, there will be local ballot questions concerning a county charter amendment and municipal charter amendments, judicial retention questions, races for President, U.S. Senate, the 16th Congressional District, a constitutional office, county commission, charter review board, and a host of other local offices. Dent said the constitutional amendment questions will be particularly time-consuming to consider and reminds voters that their ballots will count even if they choose not to vote on every race or every issue for the ballots. She said information on the proposed amendments may also be accessed from the SOE website and at the Division of Elections website at www.elections.myflorida.com “Amendment wording can be very confusing and even misleading,” she said. “I urge every voter to take the time to study the sample ballot, research the issues, and make educated choices.” Dent also noted that her office will be sending a personalized sample ballot to all registered voters who have not requested to vote by mail (absentee) in the November election. Dent encourages vote-by-mail Because of the length of the ballot and the number of amendments, Dent strongly recommends electors consider voting by mail, which is cost-effective and gives voters a longer opportunity to study the issues and find answers to their questions. Dent said the elections office began mailing vote-by-mail ballots to military and overseas voters on September 21 and will begin mailing to nearly 50,000 domestic voters tomorrow, October 2. Voters may request a mail (absentee) ballot online at www.SarasotaVotes.com , by phone at (941) 861-8618 or by email at absentee@sarasotavotes. The deadline to request a ballot be mailed to a voter is Wednesday, October 31. Voted mail ballots may be returned in person or by mail to any supervisor of elections office but must be received in the elections office not later than 7 p.m. on Election Day. The cost of postage to return a vote by mail ballot will be 65 cents. Early voting also an option Early voting is also an option for voters who want to avoid lines at the polling places on Election Day. Early voting will run from October 27 through November 3, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the three SOE offices in Sarasota, Venice and North Port, and at the Gulf Gate, North Sarasota and Fruitville libraries. # # # |
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