107,463 Duval Voters Have Cast Ballots as Early Voting Continues Across Northeast Florida

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Duval County voters have cast 107,463 ballots through Sunday, Oct. 25, bringing turnout to 16.4% as early voting continues ahead of the Nov. 3 election. The total includes ballots cast at early voting locations and ballots returned by mail, according to figures released by Duval County Supervisor of Elections Jerry Holland. Another 11,019 voters cast ballots in person Sunday, adding to a week of steady voting activity.

Across Northeast Florida, voters in St. Johns, Clay and Nassau counties have also been casting ballots before Election Day. Florida Division of Elections figures compiled Sunday morning show that 172,844 ballots had been cast across the four counties through Saturday, Oct. 24. That regional total does not include Sunday's additional voting activity, including the latest 11,019 ballots reported by Duval County.

Duval County Turnout Climbs Past 107,000

Duval County's reported turnout has increased substantially since early voting began Oct. 20. On Wednesday, Oct. 21, the county reported 49,228 ballots cast, representing 7.51% turnout. By Friday, Oct. 23, that number had reached 79,691 ballots, or 12.16%.

Saturday brought another increase, with the county reporting 96,444 total ballots and 14.72% turnout. Early voting locations recorded 14,048 ballots that day, compared with 13,531 on Friday and 13,487 on Wednesday. Sunday's additional 11,019 early votes brought the combined county total to 107,463.

The county's daily releases provide a more current picture of Duval turnout than the statewide statistics available Sunday morning. The Florida Division of Elections reported 96,398 combined early and mail ballots in Duval through Saturday, compared with the county's own Saturday total of 96,444. The difference reflects figures reported through the same date by two separate election reporting sources.

Duval County Turnout Timeline

These totals include early in-person votes and returned mail ballots, while the final column shows votes cast at early voting locations on the dates listed. Duval County's Oct. 25 report is the latest county figure included in this report. Statewide figures for the other counties cover activity only through Oct. 24.

Early Voting Totals by County

The Florida Division of Elections reported 172,844 ballots cast across Duval, St. Johns, Clay and Nassau counties through Saturday. Duval accounted for 96,398 of those votes, followed by St. Johns County with 42,340. Clay County reported 19,800, while Nassau County reported 14,306.

The totals combine ballots cast in person during early voting with returned vote-by-mail ballots. They do not include ballots that voters received but had not returned. Because the statewide figures were compiled at 8:06 a.m. Sunday, they also do not reflect Duval County's additional Sunday voting.

Baker County, which is not included in the four-county total, reported another 521 early in-person votes and 671 mail votes. Together, those figures represent 1,192 ballots cast in Baker County through Saturday. The numbers come from the same statewide reporting period as the four-county comparison.

What Party Registration Shows

The state also breaks down early voting and returned mail ballots according to each voter's party registration. In Duval County, registered Democrats accounted for 33,407 early in-person votes through Saturday, compared with 25,531 from registered Republicans. Another 9,068 early votes came from voters with no party affiliation and 1,627 from voters registered with other parties.

St. Johns, Clay and Nassau counties showed a different registration pattern among early in-person voters. St. Johns reported 15,426 early votes from registered Republicans and 6,954 from registered Democrats, while Clay reported 6,345 Republican and 2,643 Democratic early votes. Nassau recorded 5,255 Republican and 1,720 Democratic early votes.

Mail ballot figures also varied across the counties. Duval reported 13,012 returned mail ballots from registered Democrats and 9,268 from registered Republicans, while St. Johns reported 6,294 Democratic and 6,137 Republican mail ballots. Clay reported 4,615 Republican and 2,956 Democratic mail ballots, and Nassau reported 2,849 Republican and 1,960 Democratic mail ballots.

These figures identify voters by their party registration, not how they voted. The registration breakdown does not establish which candidates received votes or how the election will turn out. It provides a count of participation among registered voters in the categories tracked by the state.

How to Vote Early This Week

Duval County voters have 24 early voting locations available through Sunday, Nov. 1. Starting Monday, Oct. 26, and continuing through Friday, Oct. 30, those sites will operate from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Hours change to 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 31, and Sunday, Nov. 1.

Clay County offers early voting through Saturday, Oct. 31, with locations open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Nassau County follows the same daily hours and also ends early voting Saturday, Oct. 31. Nassau election officials say registered voters may cast an early ballot at any open early voting site and should bring identification containing both a photograph and signature.

St. Johns County voters should check votesjohns.gov for confirmed voting locations and hours. The county's election website was not loading Sunday night, preventing confirmation of its posted schedule. Florida law requires early voting at least from Saturday, Oct. 24, through Saturday, Oct. 31, for this election, while allowing counties to add earlier days and the preceding Sunday.

Voters in Duval can find the county's 24 early voting locations at duvalelections.gov. Those with questions can contact the Duval County Supervisor of Elections at 904-255-VOTE (8683). The deadline to request a vote-by-mail ballot be mailed was Oct. 22, and the county sent its final requested mail ballots Oct. 23.

More Than 2.6 Million Ballots Cast Statewide

Florida's statewide early voting and mail ballot figures show substantial voting activity through Saturday, Oct. 24. The Division of Elections reported 1,224,187 ballots cast in person during early voting and another 1,378,626 returned by mail. Combined, those figures total 2,602,813 ballots statewide.

The state also reported 1,099,503 mail ballots that had been sent to voters but not yet returned. Those outstanding ballots are separate from the statewide count of ballots already cast. The statistics reflect statewide activity through Saturday and do not include voting that occurred Sunday.

Election Day Is Nov. 3

Election Day falls on Tuesday, Nov. 3, giving voters another opportunity to cast a ballot after the early voting periods end. The rules for voting locations differ between early voting and Election Day, particularly for voters using the flexibility available at Nassau County's early voting sites. On Election Day, voters must cast their ballots at their assigned precinct.

For Duval voters, early voting remains available through Nov. 1, while Clay and Nassau end their early voting periods Oct. 31. St. Johns voters should confirm their county's schedule directly through votesjohns.gov. The reported totals will continue to change as additional ballots are cast and counted in the election participation reports.

How We Did This

Jax Times reviewed early voting releases dated Oct. 21, 23, 24 and 25 from Duval County Supervisor of Elections Jerry Holland, along with the county's early voting information at duvalelections.gov. Regional and statewide vote totals came from Florida Division of Elections early voting and vote-by-mail statistics compiled at 8:06 a.m. Oct. 25, covering voting through Oct. 24. We also used information from the Clay and Nassau county election websites checked Oct. 25 and Florida Statutes 101.657 for early voting requirements, while identifying the St. Johns County schedule as unconfirmed because its website was unavailable Sunday night.