Tomorrow is the big day -- Election Day -- and Collier County is ready. Volunteers and election staff were at the Supervisor of Elections Operations Center today, making final preparations for tomorrow.
Tina Palmese, a volunteer with the Collier League of Women Voters, will serve as the clerk for the Immokalee precinct. “I am the clerk, which is basically kind of the captain of the precinct,” Palmese said. “I’ve been a ballot specialist for the last three years, so it’ll be my first time in this role. One of the important things with the Immokalee precinct is to have enough people to translate. We have a wonderful population out there that comes out to vote who are Spanish-speaking and Creole. It’s going to be a busy day.”
Collier County Supervisor of Elections Melissa Blazier was also there, making sure each precinct clerk had the materials and support needed for a smooth Election Day.
“It’s the day before Election Day,” Blazier said. “We have all of our precinct clerks, really the precinct boss, coming in today and being assigned all of their tools for Election Day: ballots, cell phones, security seals -- all the important things. We go through a checklist with each of them for their precinct location, so they know what workers are expected to show up in the morning, make sure that we have all the supplies that they need, and wish them well.”
As of Monday morning, early voting and vote-by-mail ballots already accounted for 67% of Collier County's turnout, with over 200,000 residents casting their votes. Blazier hopes for even stronger numbers tomorrow.
“We’re almost at 67% turnout, which is excellent,” Blazier said. “Collier County has led the state of Florida in presidential general elections in the last three. In the 2020 general election, we led the state with a 90% turnout. I’m hoping we’re going to get close to an 85%-87% turnout overall, which means we need at least 55,000 voters to show up tomorrow and cast their ballots.”
Blazier reminded anyone still holding onto a vote-by-mail ballot to drop it off rather than mailing it since it’s too late. Ballots can be dropped off at the main Elections Office on Enterprise Avenue, the North Collier Government Services Center on Orange Blossom Drive, or the Heritage Bay Government Services Center at Immokalee Road and Collier Boulevard.
On Election Day, all polling places will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Voters have to go to their assigned precincts to cast their ballots.
For anyone unsure of their polling location, you can find it on the NBC2 app or website by checking our voter guide .