(ESCAMBIA) --- Do not let the name primary fool you when it comes to elections.
August 18 is just as important as the Nov. 3 General Election, according to Robert Bender, supervisor of elections for Escambia County.
"In 2024, less than 25% of eligible voters voted in the primary," Bender told OpGov.News this week. "That was down from the around 30% we had seen the previous few primary elections."
Numbers matter, especially when it comes to this year's referendum question. Should the Escambia County School District have an appointed or elected superintendent of schools?
"As this is a county-wide referendum, every voter is eligible to vote on this issue; n some cases, this may be the only issue for NPA and minor party voters, but an important issue for voters to help decide," Bender said.
(Photo: Escambia County Supervisor of Elections)
While Florida's closed Primary allows voters to choose candidates within their political party and determine who will represent that party in the general election, Bender said there is more to consider on the ballot.
For example, non-partisan races, including school board/municipal candidates, and referendums are held before the election, along with universal primary choice, when two or more candidates are from the same party and do not have a general opponent.
(Photo: Escambia County Supervisor of Elections candidates running for school board)
"For instance, this year we know both major parties will have a primary contest for U.S Senate and Governor, with the possibility of a few cabinet positions," Bender said. "We won't know officially what races will be on the ballot and when until June 12, based on who has pre-filed."
Currently, Escambia does not have any races scheduled as a universal primary.
Bender said he expects Republicans will have the U.S. Congress and District 2 State House race to replace Representative Alex Andrade, whose term is up, along with the District 2 County Commission race.
(Photo: Escambia County Supervisor of Elections candidates running for county commissioner)
In the non-partisan races, all voters in the district are eligible to vote.
"For races like school board, the candidate elected may be decided in the primary," Bender said, noting there are only two candidates currently running in districts 1 and 3.
"Voters who are waiting to vote until the general election may not have a say on who their school board representative is, as it is likely one candidate will receive more than 50% of the vote."
Bender used the last mayoral election as an example.
"This scenario happened during the City of Pensacola Mayor's race in 2022, when D.C. Reeves received more than 50% of the vote during the primary and was deemed elected instead of being required to face an opponent in the general election in November," Bender said.
"In 2018, no mayoral candidate received more than 50% of the vote in the primary, and Grover Robinson went on to beat Brian Spencer during the general election," he added.
Currently, Bender noted the six candidates, including Mayor Reeves, saying "that race should appear on the primary election this year with 3 or more candidates qualifying.
(Photo: Escambia County Supervisor of Elections candidates running for mayor)
"None of the City Council races have more than two candidates in the race, so those would go to the general election in November," Bender said.
As of now, Council President Allison Patton, District 1, is running unopposed. Districts 2 and 4 each have two candidates vying for a seat.
(Photo: Escambia County Supervisor of Elections candidates running for council seats)
"As this is a county-wide referendum, every voter is eligible to vote on this issue. In some cases, this may be the only issue for NPA and minor party voters, but an important issue for voters to help decide," Bender said.
While candidates are busy campaigning, voters' responsibility is to familiarize themselves with the candidates and issues.
"Familiarizing yourself with the candidate's platform and issues lets the voter make an informed decision on who they want to vote for," Benders said.
Most of all, Bender encourages all voters to "Be Election Ready," including checking one's voter status and vote-by-mail request status.
As a reminder, vote-by-mail requests are cleared every two years after the general election and must be renewed if a voter wishes to receive a vote-by-mail ballot.
"As part of added security around this process, voters will be required to provide their driver's license number or last 4 of their Social Security number when making a vote-by-mail request," Bender said.
Early voting dates are August 8-15, during which voters can use any of the 10 early voting sites. The election supervisor points to EscambiaVotes.gov and 850-595-3900 for any additional information on early voting or other matters.
(Photo: Escambia County Supervisor of Elections)
While candidates and voters anticipate the Primary, so do Bender and his team, ensuring that all voting system protections are in place, including logic and accuracy testing before every election.
"This public testing ensures that equipment is functioning properly and votes are correctly tallied for each candidate," Bender said. "Once the logic and accuracy test is completed, Election Day equipment is sealed until Election Day, and we are allowed to start counting vote-by-mail ballots."
During early voting and election day, election workers are constantly checking the number of check-ins versus the number of ballots cast, according to the supervisor.
They are doing daily reconciliation forms or one on Election Day night, he said, adding that in Escambia County, an independent automated audit system compares and verifies the results from the tabulation system.
With a strong volunteer team in place, Bender looks forward to the two elections.
"My goal this year is to educate voters that final decisions can and are made during the primary election, and they need to vote in the primary to have their voice heard," Bender said.
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