Lee County commissioners decline immediate ban on concealed carry at election sites
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Summary
The Lee County Board of Commissioners on March 17 rejected a proposed amendment to county code that would have banned concealed weapons at locations where election activities occur. The Board of Elections requested the change; the ordinance will be revisited after staff provides additional information.
Susan Feindell, chair of the Lee County Board of Elections, asked the Lee County Board of Commissioners on March 17 to amend Article 2, Section 2-31(a)(2) of the Lee County Code of Ordinances to prohibit concealed handguns “in any space where election activities are taking place.”
The request drew brief discussion and a motion to adopt the amendment, but the motion did not carry after a show-of-hands vote. Commissioners were told the amendment would require two readings before it could be adopted even if the board voted to move it forward tonight.
Feindell framed the request as limited to election sites and election activities, saying the board sought the change “Given the, the climate” and wanted the ordinance to explicitly include polling locations. Her remarks were made during the public-business portion of the March 17 meeting at the McSwain Center.
After the initial vote failed, Commissioner B. Reeves (mover identified in the meeting record) requested the item be held over to a future meeting so staff could provide additional information requested by commissioners, including questions the commissioner said he had presented to county counsel and the manager and items relating to the Bob Hill Center and the Sanford Police Department. The board agreed to return the matter for further consideration once the requested information is available.
No formal tally by named commissioners was recorded in the meeting transcript; the minutes show the motion to amend failed and a separate motion was made to hold the item for reconsideration at the next meeting or when the additional information is available.
The Board of Elections’ request and the commissioners’ subsequent direction mark the item as pending further staff follow-up rather than an enacted change to county ordinance. If commissioners move forward later, the transcript indicates the amendment would require the standard two-reading ordinance process.
