The Keys have set an early voting record
The Florida Keys set a new record for early voting, with more than 40 percent of registered voters having cast their ballots in advance of Election Day on Tuesday.
When early voting ended Saturday in Monroe County, 9,748 people had voted in person while 11,884 ballots had been sent by mail. The grand total of 21,632 meant 40.16 percent of the county’s 53,000 registered voters had already participated, according to Monroe County Supervisor of Elections Joyce Griffin.
On Tuesday, the polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. For a list of polling places, click here.
The numbers beat a 2014 midterm election record when 15,355 people voted early. That year had an overall turnout of 57 percent.
Asked to estimate voter turnout for Nov. 6, Griffin said she believes it will hit 63 percent.
“It could be much higher, we don’t know,” she said Monday. “We haven’t come across something like this before. I’d like it to be 80 like the presidentials.”
On Tuesday, Key West will select a new mayor, choosing between contractor and two-term city commissioner Teri Johnston and longtime government critic and former city commissioner Margaret Romero.
Johnston as of Monday had outspent Romero at about $116,000 to roughly $16,000.
Other races in Monroe include two county commission seats — incumbent David Rice versus Vicki Tashjian and Michelle Coldiron against Thomas “Tommy” Ryan vying for the seat vacated by George Neugent, who is running for Marathon City Council. There’s also a Mosquito Control District Board seat in which incumbent Phil Goodman faces Ralph DePalma. And also a Utility Board contest pitting Robert Barrios against Beth Ramsay-Vickrey.
Key West has put its own flavor on the get-out-the-vote movement.
A local bar, the Green Parrot, promises a beer, wine or well drink for anyone who votes Tuesday. Firefly, a Bahama Village restaurant, has been offering a free glass of champagne to each voter through Tuesday.
This story was originally published November 5, 2018 at 3:30 PM.