Joe Scott, Broward County Supervisor of Elections, is planning a significant expansion of in-person early voting locations across Broward County ahead of the November elections, citing expected high turnout and recent state-level changes affecting mail voting access.
According to a Sun Sentinel report, Scott said he hopes to operate 30 early voting sites for the November general election — a 43 per cent increase from the 21 locations planned for the August primary.
The expansion also includes longer operating hours. For the November election, each site will be open for 14 days of early voting, operating 12 hours per day. By comparison, the August primary will feature nine days of early voting at nine hours per day.
“We realize that fewer people are going to vote by mail because of the efforts that the state has made to make it harder for people to vote by mail,” Scott said. “But we can make it easier for people to vote early, in person, by adding more (locations). We’ll have even more early voting sites than we’ve ever had before, more communication to make sure that the public is aware that these early voting sites are there and they can vote anywhere in the county.”
Scott said the August primary and nonpartisan elections typically attract far fewer voters than the November general election, adding that resources are being shifted accordingly.
“We want to put more resources toward November,” he said. “If I can pull back a little bit in August, that makes it easier for me to push more resources to November.”
He said he is preparing for turnout of about 63 per cent in November, when voters will choose a new governor, decide a U.S. Senate race and select members of Congress.
Scott also pointed to past turnout levels in the county, noting that Broward recorded 48 per cent turnout in 2022 and 60.9 per cent in 2018.
During a recent appearance at a Democratic Party event, Scott was asked about concerns that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents could appear near polling places. He said election officials control the space within 150 feet of polling site entrances, where access is restricted.
“They’re not allowed to be within that 150-foot radius,” Scott said.
