Latest / Rick Outzen: (we don’t) color on the dog / Election Eve in Escambia
Transcript
- Rick Outzen: Welcome to We Don't Color on the Dog. Early voting has ended. We've got election day tomorrow. We have got supervisor Supervisor Robert Bender: we it Rick Outzen: for elections, Robert Bender with us. Robert, how'd it go? Supervisor Robert Bender: early voting went really well. every day of early voting was better than 2022. we set record numbers for the 13 days we were open, even compared to 2018, which had 61% turnout, which was a record for us in terms of turnout for a gubernatorial cycle, midterm cycle here. so hopefully we can do a little bit better than we did in in at 22 and and maybe even do better than we did in in 2018. Rick Outzen: So we we're looking at early voting's up, mail mail Supervisor Robert Bender: Okay, wait, Rick Outzen: vote by mail is is off though. Supervisor Robert Bender: It is, it's off about 30%. but of course it's down statewide. part of the changes were that in 2022 you still had a lot of people that made the request in 2020 that was still good for for those two cycles, whereas after that everybody was wiped clean and now you have to renew that request every every election cycle. So that's contributed to it. you know, we have we've sent out fewer vote by mail than actually received that that election. And and so again expect like we would for the presidential that we get a lot more requests, but for the midterms we're down a little. Rick Outzen: Yeah, you y you're you're you're interested in getting the whole overall percentage of voter turnout turnout up. but in looking at the numbers it seems to be a little bit more enthusiasm out of Democrats Supervisor Robert Bender: Yeah. Rick Outzen: in early voting. Supervisor Robert Bender: De definitely if you're looking at statewide turnout, a higher percent of Democrats have turned out. I haven't seen the exact party breakdown. I think in terms of again, percentage of turnout Democrats I think are are leading. but in terms of of raw numbers, you do see the higher higher Republican turnout, but also statewide you have one point five million more Republicans over Democrats. So you would expect that in the raw numbers, but percent wise it was a the last time I said it was probably eight percent better that you saw in terms of percent turnout. Rick Outzen: Now tomorrow everything starts at seven o'clock, goes to seven. Supervisor Robert Bender: Seven to seven. you have to go to your home precinct. Remember, we did have precinct 35 was the one that was damaged during the hurricane, east East Pensacola Heights Community Center. And and so I'm telling them we get started real quick. Yeah, we're we're still we're opening vote by mail. East Community Pencil Heights Community Center was was damaged. And so we are at Heights Baptist Church about two blocks away. But as we do with any permanent change or any of the temporary locations, we'll put an A-frame sign at the the the location not in use, directing them to the new location or the temporary location. Also at those early vote sites that we'll put out signs so that people can scan the QR code and find out where to go. Because the last thing we want is somebody at one of those early vote sites to send somebody to the wrong precinct. Don't want to disenfranchise them. So if they scan that QR code, they can find out where they need to go. Course, it was on their sample ballot. They can go to our website, escamyboats.gov, to find out where they need to go on election day. You do need to go to your home precinct, like I said. Also, if you still have your vote by mail, we we're working very closely with the USPS. They'll make the last final sweeps tomorrow evening. Bring us ballots right before seven o'clock. but don't risk it if you haven't mailed it yet. You can bring it by my office, Downtown Supervisor of Elections Office. They will be open till 7 p.m. So you'll still go through the main lobby like you would into the Skimby County complex and make your way up there. But doors will be open late to make sure we can let those vote by mail ballots be submitted to us, but they have to be in our possession by 7 p.m. Rick Outzen: So if if you're in line at seven o'clock, you still get to vote. Supervisor Robert Bender: You do. You have to be in line. What happens is they'll they'll announce the bowls are closed. The clerk will get in line and and he's he's the end of the line, or he or she's at the end of the line. So if if you are in line at seven VM, you will have the opportunity to vote. But if you come in say at seven five and get in the back of the line, that's that's not there at seven o'clock. So they would rightfully tell you that that you're you're late. Even though there's still people that are getting ballots or voting or something Rick Outzen: I Right. Supervisor Robert Bender: like that, but You have to be there by seven PM. Rick Outzen: I guess the the other question is you've you're I know you're a numbers guy like I am. what percentage of the vote, you know, there was a time when the majority of the votes would have already been cast once early voting is stopped and the mail the the vote by mail has come in. what percentage of your vote you think is gonna happen? Let's say is it a gonna be the third of the vote tomorrow that's gonna take place, or what do you think? Supervisor Robert Bender: So if even in presidential and midterm, we're right about 50 to 60,000 on election day. so the Rick Outzen: Yeah. Supervisor Robert Bender: last two midterms we were 50 and 55. so if if if we can keep that 55,000, then then that means we're we're we're a little bit under half that have already submitted their their ballots. So I I would say that we're gonna see 50% or more of our turnout on election day. but still it'll it'll a high turnout from from early vote nothing like we saw where we had 50% early vote in 2024. So I I do think we'll probably get into that 110, 120,000. and of course we have 17,000 fewer voters than we had in 2022. So if we have the same raw number of voters, we're up 5%, we'll be at 56% versus 51.5% or so. So that you know Again, you change change that denominator a little bit and helps you out. But yeah, I think we're probably gonna end up closer to I I'm really hoping fifty five, if not sixty thousand voters tomorrow and and put us north of that maybe sixty percent or so. Rick Outzen: And then that will be what'll be the test then is that as that extra fifty percent comes in, will they vote in the same percentages Supervisor Robert Bender: We have the expensive and it might be Rick Outzen: as the early voting did? And we don't know that yet. That's part of the game. Yeah. Supervisor Robert Bender: It it is. Of course, we'll have those results from early voting and vote by mail will be released shortly after seven o'clock. We really pause everything here at about 6 30 so that we can be prepared to get those results out as close to seven o'clock as possible. of course we have 30 minutes to get that out, but really by 703, 705, we want to have that website updated and and and which again will look like about maybe 45% of the vote will be counted. You know, I think in the primary by 720, all the city precincts had had already modem results and the city race Rick Outzen: Mm-hmm. Supervisor Robert Bender: was called. So I really about 7.30, we're gonna have 95% of our precincts have reported. So we have 80 precincts, usually about 77 of them can make it without any trouble. Sometimes on the north end they have trouble getting connectivity or something. But so 77 of the 80 precincts reported by 730, 740. is yeah hopefully a an early night for for you all. It'll still be a late night for us. but the ones that look at the call to races and things like that. and of course, you know, twenty eighteen we had three statewide recounts. The last time we had an open gubernatorial election. so what does that have in store for us later this week? again we'll have a general indication tomorrow night as we go to the unofficial resort first unofficial results on Thursday and and Friday across the state, but you know, we'll we'll see what what happens. Rick Outzen: All right. Well fingers crossed everything goes well. Robert, thank you so much for coming out. Supervisor Robert Bender: I appreciate it, Rick. Thanks so much. Rick Outzen: Take care.