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11:01 a.m.
By 9:45 a.m., about 55 people had voted at Precinct 38, the Senior Recreation Center at 5701 NW 34th St.
One voter returned after he had already voted and brought a box of Dunkin’ Donuts.
The rain didn’t stop 86-year-old Genevieve Mattson from voting. Mattson said she has voted at this precinct since it opened.
She said voting was quick this time.
Lewis Mazzarella, 76, and his wife, Susan Mazzarella, 74, also vote regularly there. They chatted with the deputy clerk outside the location and said the experience was positive.
“The workers are just great,” Susan said.
Ross Woodbridge, 54, said he voted for current Mayor Craig Lowe but against the elections referendum. It needs to be thought through more, he said, and he didn’t have enough information to comfortably vote in favor of it.
- Clare Lennon
10:47 a.m.
Voters sampled at the Atrium senior living facility polling place seem to favor Republican challenger Ed Braddy for mayor.
One man, who has lived in Gainesville for 49 years, said he didn’t like the changes that Mayor Craig Lowe brought to Gainesville.
One voter, a worker for the city, expressed support for Lowe.
Peggy Jellema, a resident of the Atrium, voted for Braddy on her daughter’s recommendation, after he visited her daughter at her home.
Voters said the biomass plant, which Braddy opposes, and city infrastructure are hot topics.
The proposal to move city elections to November, currently on the ballot, has divided voters here.
The biggest issue they seem to have is that it gives the current elected officials an extra eight months of their term, which more than a few voters have said is unfair.
“It’s a scam,” said Laura Fuller, a voter in her 50s. “It doesn’t need to be moved.”
- Carl McKinney
10:02 a.m.
A small but steady stream of voters turned out to cast ballots at First Lutheran Church Tuesday morning.
According to Michael Powers, Precinct 5 deputy clerk, about 60 people have voted so far. Powers said that’s average for other locations, but for this location at 1801 NW 5th Ave., which is just a few blocks north of the university, it is slow.
“It’s still early,” Powers said.
The voters who came out have been enthusiastic and friendly, Powers said. He just wishes there were more of them.
“It could increase,” Powers said. “Gotta think positive.”
- Rachel Crosby
9:33 a.m.
Drizzle became steady rain, then slowed again and almost stopped between 7:40 and 9:10 a.m. Tuesday at Precinct 37, which is the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship at 4225 NW 34th St.
Everyone was in and out quickly. The place was empty enough that people could have conversations in the middle of the parking lot and not disturb anyone.
Matt Aubuchon, 39, came before work and said the rain was no problem. He expected more people to be at the precinct.
But, he said, “It’s kind of an odd time for an election.”
He didn’t want to say how he voted, but added that he votes in every election. This location has always been quick, he said.
Krista Deak, 34, voted on the way to work and was dropping a 3-year-old off on the way to work. She usually votes early but didn’t get around to it this time. Deak said voted in the morning because she thought it to be busy after work, although she expected more people to be voting this morning.
Joe Larkin, 39, voted on the way to work. He said he voted for Craig Lowe.
“He’s been doing a fine job,” Larkin said. He also voted to keep the elections at the same time of year. He thinks they work they way they are.
Larkin said Precinct 37 was not only quick but the polling place staff are friendly.
“That’s not always the case,” he said.
Bruce Delaney, 67, voted on the way to work at the University of Florida. He was in and out in less than three minutes.
“It was effortless,” Delaney said.
He has been voting in that location since he moved to Gainesville in 1986.
He said he voted to keep city elections in the spring for two reasons: the results are more accurate and educated voters turn out.
“The people going to the polls know why they’re going,” Delaney said.
It also takes less time to vote in March than in November, he said. “It takes less time than going in and buying a beer.”
Clerk Sara McGuire said that so far the election has gone smoothly. People seem to know their vote before they walk into the building, she said. “It is a much easier election than November.”
McGuire said 38 people voted after the polls had been open for about two hours. For this race and a relatively short ballot, she said, turnout has been average.
She said the polling team at Precinct 37 is good, and they haven’t had any problems. She said rain might affect turnout but only a little.
- Clare Lennon
9:32 a.m.
Two and a half hours after polls opened, 60 people had voted at the Atrium, according to Assistant Clerk John Foltz.
“We’ve been pleasantly surprised by the steady stream of people coming in,” he said.
He said the short ballot has kept the process moving quickly. It has taken less than a minute for people to vote.
Only two items are on the ballot here: the vote for mayor and the question of moving the elections to November.
- Carl McKinney
9:27 a.m.
The sun broke through rain clouds Tuesday morning at the Ignite Life Center, the Precinct 7 polling location, as voters trickled in to cast their ballots.
“It’s been slow so far,” said Phyllis Ross, a poll worker at the 404 NW 14th Ave. location.
Ross said early voting may have affected the area’s morning voting turnout.
“A lot of people do early voting,” Ross said. “I do early voting.”
Ross said she expects more voters later in the day as people get off work.
“It’ll get better,” Ross said. “Just not this morning.”
- Rachel Crosby
8:52 a.m.
Democratic incumbent for District 4 commissioner, Randy Wells, is at the Thelma Boltin Center talking to voters. It is his first stop on what he hopes will be a tour taking him to all the polling locations in town.
He will soon be leaving to make phone calls to forgetful voters, he said.
- Carl McKinney
8:42 a.m.
Democratic challenger for mayor Scherwin Henry has just arrived at the Thelma Boltin Center.
The former city commissioner from District 1, currently a cell biology scientist at the University of Florida, said he was going to every polling location in the city. This was his fourth stop.
“I’m just here to make sure I have just as much visibility as the other candidates,” he said.
- Carl McKinney
8:30 a.m.
Voters are still trickling into the Thelma Boltin Center. More than an hour after the polls opened, more than 25 people have cast their ballot.
The voters here at the Thelma Boltin Center are in District 4, where incumbent City Commissioner Randy Wells, a Democrat, is seeking re-election.
Another Wells supporter just emerged. The man, who wished to remain anonymous, said he thinks Wells has a lot of support in the area because the he lives in the Duckpond area.
“I think he knows what this area wants,” he said.
- Carl McKinney
8:14 a.m.
Polls have been open at the Thelma Boltin Center, at 516 NE Second Ave., for more than an hour now. So far, 18 people have voted, but a new voter arrives in the parking lot every couple of minutes.
The clerk and volunteers won’t allow reporters on the property, but a few voters are willing to talk.
A recent graduate of the University of Florida law school just left the polls. The 30-year-old man said he voted for incumbent Democrat Randy Wells.
As for the mayor, he also went with the incumbent, Democrat Craig Lowe.
“It’s either him or (Scherwin) Henry,” he said.
- Carl McKinney