BRADENTON, Fla. — With 15 days until election day, early voting began Monday in Manatee and Hillsborough counties. Early Voting will run through Saturday, November 2, daily from 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
In Manatee County, registered voters can vote early at any of the following locations:
- Braden River Library, 4915 53rd Avenue East, Bradenton 34203
- GT Bray Park, 5502 33rd Avenue Drive W, Bradenton 34209
- Lakewood Ranch Library, 16410 Rangeland Parkway, Lakewood Ranch 34211
- Lakewood Ranch Town Hall, 8175 Lakewood Ranch Blvd, Lakewood Ranch 34202
- Palmetto Library, 923 6th Street West, Palmetto 34221
- Parrish Fire District Station #2, 3804 North Rye Road, Parrish 34219
- Rocky Bluff Library, 6750 US Hwy 301, Ellenton 34222
- Supervisor of Elections Office, 600 301 Blvd West, Suite 118, Bradenton 34205
Kara Wootson was one of the hundreds who voted on Monday at GT Bray Park.
“I’m eager. I’m excited about voting in this particular election, so I wanted to do it sooner rather than later,” she said.
For her, there are many important races at all levels of government on this year’s ballot.
“I can’t say one is more important than the other. I never miss an opportunity to vote,” Wootson said.
Recent events drove Gail Wray early to the polls.
“Well, I just wanted to make sure I got my vote in early,” Wray said. “You never know what might happen on election day, we get bad weather, we could have power outages so I just wanted to my vote in early.”
For Wray, the presidential election was the biggest draw on Monday.
“I voted for Donald J. Trump but then another really important thing to me is Amendment 4,” Wray said. “I voted no on amendment 4. I don’t think people have all the facts.”
Wootson also shared who she chose for president.
“I hope Kamala Harris wins. I really, really want her to win,” she said.
Amendment 4 is all-important to Wootson, although she voted differently than Wray.
“I did vote yes on four. Yes, yes, yes on four. That’s very important to me,” Wootson said. “I believe that it is no one else’s business except the woman and her family members on what she chooses to do with her body. And it’s not just the abortion part of it. It’s IVF. It’s a multi-layered situation.”
A poll worker, Tom Matheson rode his bike to Bray on Monday to drop off his and his wife’s mail-in ballots. His bicycle's license plate says “vote.”
“People have the responsibility not just the right, but they have the responsibility to vote, and they better get to the polls and vote,” he said. “Who you vote for is your business but that you vote is our business.”
Because of damage caused by hurricanes Milton and Helene, poll locations for five precincts have moved. Those new locations are:
- Precinct 301 and Precinct 305 voters will now vote at the Island Branch Library.
- Precinct 307 voters will now vote at the Longboat Island Chapel.
- Precinct 409 voters will now vote at the State College of Florida.
- Precinct 421 voters will now vote at the Trailer Estates Recreation Hall.
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FEMA guidelines for debris removal do not include condos or condominiums because they are considered commercial enterprises. A public information officer for the City of Clearwater told ABC Action News, "We are not removing debris from condos; we do consider them commercial."
