Supervisor of Elections: polling-place changes and two county races set for a universal primary

Supervisor of Elections Vicky Oates briefed the board on election preparations and her office's budget request, emphasizing polling-place adjustments, candidate qualifying, and voter outreach.

Oates said the county has configured 55 precincts this year while consolidating some polling places; the office will open 42 election-day polling locations. She described outreach steps, including mailing a 133,052-copy voter guide to residential mailboxes in the county and posting final candidate lists and sample ballots on the elections website. Vote-by-mail mailings to overseas and military voters were scheduled to go out beginning July 2, with domestic vote-by-mail following afterward.

Oates also explained an unusual ballot situation: two county commission seats became "universal primary" contests because only Republican candidates qualified. Under Florida law, those races will be decided in the August primary and appear on ballots open to all registered voters in St. Johns County. Board members asked procedural questions about how a universal primary is decided; Oates confirmed the top vote-getter wins.

The supervisor said the office's FY request is up about 7.7% (roughly $330,000) driven by the cost of running a general election (the cycle year) and higher postage and staffing needs. She asked for the board's support for planned facility expansions (additional workspace and training areas for part-time poll workers) and said her office will file a final budget package consistent with county procedures.

Public commenters during the item praised the election office's transparency and asked clarifying questions about campaign rules inside election facilities; Oates clarified vote-by-mail request timelines and the website tools voters can use to check their ballot status.