Early Primary Voting Begins Monday

Which way will Hernando go?

The conscientious among the electorate will begin to answer that question on Monday, the first day of early voting for the Jan. 29 presidential primary election.

Voters can make their voices heard between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday, Jan. 14-26, at both offices of the Hernando County Supervisor of Elections.

Absentee voting is already under way. Ballots are available by calling the elections office at 754-4125. The deadline to request an absentee ballot is Jan. 23.

Election Day is Jan. 29, when polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

As of Jan. 2, Hernando County had 115,579 registered voters, according to the elections office. Republicans outnumbered Democrats by 2,652.

A sizeable portion of Hernando's voters, 24,481, are registered with minor parties or have no party affiliation.

In the 2004 presidential primary, 28.4 percent of the county's voters showed up to cast a ballot. Of those, 1,500 - or 1.47 percent - voted early and roughly the same percentage cast an absentee ballot.

Hernando Supervisor of Elections Annie Williams is predicting a good turnout, despite the virtual disenfranchisement of Florida Democrats. The Democratic National Committee has refused to count the state's delegates as punishment for pushing up the state's primary date.

But Amendment One, the constitutional amendment that would double the homestead exemption to $50,000 and make the Save Our Homes benefit portable, will likely be a draw no matter where on the political spectrum a voter falls, Williams said.

"That will probably increase the turnout to some extent," she said.