Lazaro Aleman
ECB Publishing, Inc.
The start of early voting for the primary election is just around the corner, with voters soon getting a chance to choose their political party bearers for three state races and outright picking a winner in at least one of three local races.
Early voting for the primary election, which is set for Tuesday, Aug. 23, will begin Monday, Aug. 8, and run through Saturday, Aug. 20, with voting possible between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. each day at the elections office, 1175 W. Washington Street.
The three local races that will appear on the primary ballot are for Supervisor of Election and School Board, District 3 and 5 seats.
For Supervisor of Elections, registered Republican voters will get to choose between Mike Fillyaw and Michelle Milligan. The winner here will face Althera J. Johnson, a Democrat, in the general election in November.
The two school board races are nonpartisan.
In the School Board District 3 race, the choice is between longtime incumbent Shirley Washington and challenger Brenda Bentley Wirick. Whoever wins here, wins the election.
In the School Board District 5 race, three candidates are vying for the seat. These are longtime incumbent Charles Boland, and challengers Mags Flynt and Ruby Grantham. If any one candidate gets 50 percent of the vote plus one in the primary, that individual wins. Otherwise the two top vote getters proceed to the general election.
At the state level, voters will get to pick their candidate of choice in three races, depending on the voter’s party affiliation. The three races that will appear on the primary ballot are for governor, attorney general and agriculture commissioner.
In the governor’s race, Democrats will have three choices to pick from. They are Democrats Charlie Crist, Cadance Daniel and Nicole “Nikki” Fried. The winner here will face incumbent Republican incumbent Ron DeSantis and No Party Affiliation Jodi Jeloudov in November.
In the attorney general race, Democrats will also have three choices. These are Democratic candidates Aramis Ayala, Jim Lewis and Daniel Uhlfelder. The winner here will face Republican incumbent Ashley Moody in November.
And in the agriculture commissioner race, both Democrats and Republican voters will have choices. For Democrats, the three Democratic candidates are Naomi Blemur, J. R. Gaillot and Ryan Morales.
And for Republicans, the choice is between GOP candidates James Shaw and Wilton Simpson.
Sample ballots will be mailed to voters after the closing of the books for the primary election on Monday, July 25.