Early voting begins on Saturday across the Gulf Coast

Early voting begins on Saturday in Lee, Collier, and Charlotte counties, with Lee County voters seeing significant changes, including the use of paper ballots and privacy booths. There are 12 early voting sites in Lee County for this primary election. Voters will now use privacy booths equipped for voting with pen and paper, a shift from the previous reliance on touch-screen voting machines. While electronic voting machines will still be available upon request, the election center now has only three machines compared to dozens in prior years. "I know in the past I've heard concern from voters that they were being pushed to vote on the electronic voting machines. Those will be there for any voter upon request," said Jenna Persons-Mulicka, Lee County Supervisor of Elections. "But we're going to make sure you get a paper ballot and pen in your hand," Persons-Mulicka said. Privacy booths are also being set up in Collier County, which has never heavily relied on touch screens but did provide them. Poll workers are currently undergoing training to assist voters during the process. "I'm going to ask them to initial it," a poll worker said during training. Persons-Mulicka emphasized the need for additional poll workers. "We are working for more alternate poll workers, so if you're interested in working the election, give our office a call," she said. More than 1,600 poll workers have already been hired, with the job offering several hundred dollars in pay. Additionally, the Dunbar community is receiving an early polling location for the first time since Hurricane Ian. "We didn't have an early voting site in the Dunbar community since Hurricane Ian," Persons-Mulicka said. Voters can check wait times at polling locations by scanning a QR code or visiting the election website. For those with mail ballots, instead of mailing them, voters can securely drop them off at designated drop boxes available at all early voting sites. DOWNLOAD the free Gulf Coast News app for your latest news and alerts on breaking news, weather, sports, entertainment, and more on your phone or tablet. And check out the Very Local Gulf Coast app to stream news, entertainment and original programming on your TV.