Editorial
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Article published on Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2008 |
Pinellas County voters have plenty of choices to make when they cast their ballots for the Tuesday, Aug. 26 primary.
In nonpartisan races, voters will choose School Board members for three districts. The slate of candidates for those seats are strong – 14 are on the ballot.
Also on the ballot are candidates for property appraiser, sheriff, two county commission seats, two judgeships, two congressional seats and two legislative seats. Some precinct ballots will include Democratic Party committee races.
Suffice it to say, such choices may be difficult for voters; many might spend time studying the ballot at polling places. With so many offices at stake, voters should expect to find lines at polling places.
But voters have other options. Early voting continues through Saturday at the following locations: Election Service Center, 13001 Starkey Road, Largo; Pinellas County Courthouse, 315 Court St., Room 117, Clearwater; County Annex Building, 501 First Ave. N., Auditorium, Fifth Street entrance, St. Petersburg.
Also encouraging as of Aug. 13, the Elections Office had sent out more than 75,000 mail ballots and nearly 20,000 had been returned.
Mail ballots must be returned to any Supervisor of Elections office by 7 p.m. on election day and cannot be accepted at polling places. Additional mail ballot drop-off locations are also available throughout the county through Aug. 23.
As typical, the media has provided information about candidates, such as their biographical backgrounds, platforms and stands on various issues. For profiles of candidates in many of the races and other election news, go to www.TBNweekly.com.
Besides using media Web sites, voters also can find information on candidates on their Web sites. A good place to start is by going to the supervisor of elections Web site, www.votepinellas.com. Go to “candidates” in the index and click on candidates’ names to get e-mail addresses, phone numbers and Web sites.
Certainly, changes in procedures, ballot machines, etc. has caused frustrations for voters in recent years, but elections also are becoming more convenient through mail ballots and early voting – certainly noteworthy advancements in the fight against apathy.
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Article published on Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2008
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