Primary: Low Turnout Expected

The cars started arriving early Monday morning in the back of the Westside elections office off Forest Oaks Boulevard.
Precinct coordinators were picking up their assigned ballots and equipment to store securely in their homes overnight.
This morning, around 6 a.m., they planned to drive them to their respective precincts in time for today's primary election.
Polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 7 p.m.
But the question is, how many people will bother to get out and vote?
Supervisor of Elections Annie Williams is not predicting big crowds, especially given the lighter than expected turnout for early voting.
In all, 5,904 people voted in the 12 days of early and absentee voting. There are 120,179 registered voters in Hernando County.
Williams is expecting about a 20 to 30 percent turnout for today's primary.
In the 2004 and 2006 primaries, there was a 27.6 percent and 21.08 percent turnout respectively by Hernando County voters.
Many voters just don't realize the importance of the primary elections and prefer to wait for the big general election in November, she said.
"If they don't vote (today), someone else is going to be making the decisions for them in November." Williams said.
While today's election turnout may not be as high as a presidential election, it is still expected to be a barometer of how mad the electorate is at the incumbent county commissioners.
There has been a concerted effort by several in the community to dump all three sitting commissioners, only one of whom - Jeff Stabins - faces Republican opposition in today's primary.
Civic activist Blaise Ingoglia, for example, said he has spent about $6,500 of his own money so far in campaign contributions to candidates out to unseat Stabins and Democrats Diane Rowden and Chris Kingsley. The latter two do not have primary opposition and will face their Republican challengers in the November general election.
Ingoglia has even launched a Web site - www.hernandotruth.com -- to counter what he calls the "lies" perpetrated by Stabins and others.
Weather should not play a factor today. There is the typical 50 percent chance of rain, developing later in the day.
Voters must bring with them to the polls a photo identification with signature.
To find your polling place, visit the Supervisor of Elections Web site at: http://www.hernandovotes.com/PrecinctSearch.htm.