Florida primary election 2022: There are new voting sites for 11 Polk County precincts

Voters in 11 Polk County precincts will cast ballots in new locations for Tuesday’s primary elections.

Leaders of some sites that previously hosted polling places are no longer willing to do so, Polk County Supervisor of Elections Lori Edwards said. But the elections office has found enough new locations that no citizens will have to travel far to vote, she said.

Among the 11 sites no longer serving as polling places this year, eight are churches, according to a list provided by Edwards’ office. Five of the replacement sites are churches: Multiply Christian Church, Village Church of God and Christ Community Church, all in Winter Haven; Scott Lake Baptist Church in Lakeland; and St. Mary's Primitive Baptist Church in Haines City.

POLK COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD RACES:

• District 7: Lisa Miller faces 2 challengers, in bid for 2nd term

• District 6: Newcomers Sara Jones and Justin Sharpless vie for open seat

• District 5: Pastor Terry Clark aims to deny Kay Fields a 6th term

• District 3: Rick Nolte challenges Sarah Fortney's bid for 2nd term

Two of the new locations are fraternal organizations: Lakeland Elks Lodge No. 1291 and Lake Wales Masonic Lodge. The remaining replacement sites are Kissimmee South Resort in Davenport, Crooked Lake Community Center in Lake Wales, Lake Wales Administrative Building and the FFA Leadership Center in Haines City.

Early voting continues through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at nine locations in Polk County:

• Polk Street Community Center, 1255 Polk St., Bartow.

• Polk County Sheriffs Northeast District Office, 1100 Dunson Road, Davenport.

• Haines City Library, 111 N. Sixth St.

• Polk County Government Center, 930 E. Parker St., Lakeland.

• Simpson Park Community Center, 1725 Martin L King Jr. Ave., Lakeland.

• Tourist Club, 205 N. Fifth St., Lake Wales.

• Mulberry Civic Center, 901 NE Fifth St.

• Poinciana Community Fitness Center, 397 Marigold Ave.

• Gil Jones Northeast Polk County Government Center, 3425 Lake Alfred Road, Winter Haven.

CONGRESSIONAL PRIMARIES:

• Open Congressional District 15 seat draws 5 ambitious Democrats

• 5 Republicans vie to be party's candidate for Florida's new 15th Congressional district

• 4 Republicans hope to challenge Democratic incumbent Darren Soto in Congressional District 9

• In older congressional District 11, two Republicans under 30 are challenging Daniel Webster

• US Rep. Scott Franklin faces 4 newcomers in Republican primary for the 18th district

Traditional voting will take place Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at 134 locations throughout Polk County.

Edwards said the participation rate in Polk County for the last three primary elections in non-presidential years averaged 22%.

Polk County voters requested nearly 119,000 mail ballots for this election, according to the Supervisor of Elections office. Edwards said she expected about 40,000 ballots to be cast by mail, and as of Monday afternoon her office had received just over 35,000.

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The office had recorded more than 2,600 early votes cast as of Monday, with 1,365 by registered Republicans, 1,139 by Democrats and 150 by others.

Gary White can be reached at gary.white@theledger.com or 863-802-7518. Follow on Twitter @garywhite13.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Polk County voters in 11 precincts have a new polling place