CRESTVIEW — Okaloosa Supervisor of Elections Paul Lux says while just 12,574 Crestview residents are registered voters, he's still optimistic.
“I would contend this election actually is garnering more interest than we have seen in recent elections in Crestview,” Lux said. “The mayoral race has become so contentious it has a lot of people paying attention to it.
“It’s one of those factors that when people say, ‘What can we do to improve the turnout,’ I like to say the choices of candidates help to draw voters.”
As polls closed Thursday, Crestview voters outnumbered their counterparts in Laurel Hill, Fort Walton Beach and Shalimar during the first of two weeks of early voting for municipal offices.
AHEAD OF PAST COUNTS
While 178 voters have cast early ballots in Crestview, two Laurel Hill voters voted early. Three residents voted in Shalimar and 64 voters turned out in Fort Walton Beach, according to Supervisor of Elections' daily counts.
With a week of early voting remaining, Lux said Crestview is on track to top 2013’s 213 total early votes and possibly the 339 who voted early in 2011.
Absentee voters performed a bit better, with 239 votes in Crestview, 13 in Laurel Hill, 246 in Fort Walton Beach, and 33 in Shalimar.
Lux cautioned against using the lack of early Laurel Hill voters to draw conclusions about potential voter turnout.
“They don’t really take advantage of either early voting or absentees as a general rule,” Lux said. “It’s just a geographic thing.”
NO PREDICTIONS
Four mayoral candidates — incumbent David Cadle, business owner Landrum "Lanny" Edwards, City Councilman Tom Gordon and business owner Jeremiah Hubbard — are on the ballot in Crestview. Six council candidates — educator Debra Adams, retirees Daniel Lane and Scott Moneypenny, former Mayor Joan Smith, transportation worker Randy Tickle and City Councilwoman Willie Mae Toles — are running for three seats in Laurel Hill. Twelve council candidates are running for three Fort Walton Beach seats, and three town commission candidates are running in Shalimar.
Several candidates automatically will take their seats because they ran unopposed, including new Crestview City Councilmen Bill Cox and JB Whitten, two Fort Walton Beach councilmen, and Shalimar Mayor Gary Combs.
Early and absentee votes do not offer insight on voters’ choices of candidates. Early and absentee votes will be counted together on Election Day, March 10, beginning at 7 p.m.
EARLY VOTING
Registered voters may vote early in Crestview and Laurel Hill's municipal elections 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday at the Supervisor of Elections Office, Brackin Building, 302 Wilson St. N., Suite 102, Crestview.
WHO’S VOTING?
City – Reg. Voters – Early Votes – Absentee Votes
Crestview – 12,574 – 178 – 239
Fort Walton Beach – 12,603 – 64 – 246
Laurel Hill – 318- 2 – 13
Shalimar – 635 – 3 – 33
Editor's Note: An earlier version of this article included incorrect infomration. Jeremiah Hubbard, though in ministry in 2011 and before then, is no longer an evangelist. We regret the error.
Email News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Mayoral race piques early voters’ interest