A lot of people are heading to the polls, and it’s not even Election Day yet.
Pasco County elections supervisor Brian Corley says more than 5,000 people turned out to vote on Saturday, as early voting started in various locations around the county.
By lunchtime on Monday, the number of early voters quickly approached 9,000, joining more than 38,000 mail-in ballots already received for the midterm election.
Republicans make up 45 percent of all the pre-Election Day voters so far in Pasco, while Democrats account for 35 percent. Non-affiliated voters or those from other parties make up the remaining 19 percent.
That brings total turnout so far to a little more than 15 percent. The best turnout so far has been at the Tampa Bay Golf & Country Club in San Antonio, where nearly 25 percent of the more than 2,100 people registered there have cast a ballot. That is a heavily Republican precinct, where Democrats are outnumbered nearly 2-to-1.
The worst turnout so far is at Darby Community Church in Dade City, were just 6 percent of the 764 voters there have finished their civic duty. That district is more balanced in terms of the major political parties, with 42 percent Republican and 34 percent Democratic.
Early voting continues through Saturday, with each location open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. This election gives voters a chance to choose between two governors in who will stay (or move back into) the mansion in Tallahassee. It also has some local races, including Pasco County Commission between Mike Moore and Erika Remsberg.
Voters also are choosing whether to support three amendments to the state constitution, ranging from land conservation to how state supreme court justices are appointed to medical marijuana.
• East Pasco Government Center, 14236 Sixth St., Dade City
• Land O’ Lakes Library, 2818 Collier Parkway, Land O’ Lakes
• New River Branch Library, 34043 State Road 54, Zephyrhills
• The Grove at Wesley Chapel, 6013 Wesley Grove Blvd., Wesley Chapel
• Hudson Library, 8012 Library Road, Hudson
• New Port Richey Elections Office, 8731 Citizens Drive, New Port Richey
• Regency Park Library, 9701 Little Road, New Port Richey
• South Holiday Library, 4649 Mile Stretch Drive, Holiday
