New voter information cards are being sent to registered voters across Duval County. l Jessica Palombo, Jacksonville Today
Published on January 3, 2024 at 5:09 pm
Watch your mailbox: You may find changes in where you vote.
The Duval County Supervisor of Elections Office is sending out new voter information cards to all 638,000-plus registered voters in the county. Of those, 245,000 will show changes to the voter’s precinct number or voting location.
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The changes have sparked interest and questions from voters. Supervisor of Elections Jerry Holland said the new cards should help prevent any confusion voters might have before Election Day.
“They can look, see if they get the same precinct, the same polling location, or has theirs changed so they can be familiar with it prior to the election,” Holland said.
The changes resulted from the settlement of a lawsuit against the supervisor’s office. The lawsuit, filed last June, contested the number of precincts per City Council district.
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The number of precincts ranged from nine in some districts to 18 in others, which put some voters at a disadvanage due to longer travel distances, reduced accessibility and longer wait times, the lawsuit contended.
This prompted the supervisor’s office to reduce the number of precincts to 160 from 186 for the presidential primary in March. The settlement also means there will be no more than 10 to 12 precincts on Election Day in each of the 14 City Council districts around Jacksonville.
Holland said about 200,000 registered voters out of the 245,000 with changes will get a new precinct location for the presidential primary.
“For some people, it might have been their original location might have been just right across the street or a block away. Now they may be as much as two miles away,” Holland said. “Again, what they’ve got to understand is we’ve given the same equal access to all voters. So sometimes you’ll be located right next door to one, but other times you may have to go a couple miles to your voting location.”
If your precinct change isn’t as convenient as before, Holland suggests taking advantage of voting by mail or early voting.
You’ll want to pay attention even after you get your new voter information card because there is a chance your precinct could change again before the primary election in August and the general election in November.
Holland said he intends to keep the same precincts but has told the City Council that he will add locations if he can. Even then, the supervisor’s office would have to keep the number of precincts within a City Council district between 10 and 12.
On the flip side, Holland said some precinct locations might drop out since they might not agree with certain issues that could be on the ballot.
Changes in a precinct could happen within hours of an election. Any change would be posted on the Duval Supervisor of Elections website. New voter information cards would be sent out to the people affected, and the change would appear on people’s sample ballots.
You’ll want to check your mailbox soon, because all voter cards are scheduled to be mailed out by Friday.
If you get your card and you need to change any information — or you have other questions — you can call the supervisor’s office at 904-255-8683.
Lead image: New voter information cards are being sent to registered voters across Duval County. l Jessica Palombo, Jacksonville Today
