Early voting locations, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.*
Collier County
Everglades City Hall, 102 Copeland Avenue N.
Golden Gate Library, 2432 Lucerne Road
Immokalee Library, 417 N First St.
Collier County Library headquarters, 2385 Orange Blossom Drive, North Naples
Marco Island Library, 210 S. Heathwood Drive
Naples City Hall, 735 Eighth Street South
Supervisor of Elections Office, 3295 U.S. 41 E., East Naples
Lee County
Supervisor of Elections Office, Fort Myers Lee County Constitutional Complex, 2480 Thompson Street, Fort Myers
Bonita Springs Supervisor of Elections branch, Coconut Commerce Center, 24951 Old U.S. 41 Road
Cape Coral Supervisor of Elections branch, 1031 S. E. Ninth Place, No. 3
Election Center South Branch Office, 13180 S. Cleveland Ave., Fort Myers
East Lee County Regional Library, 881 Gunnery Road, Lehigh Acres
* Through Nov. 3
NAPLES — A lengthy ballot and the threat of long lines have election officials reminding voters patience is a virtue.
Early voting begins today, and election officials in Collier and Lee counties said they're expecting the polls to be slammed with eligible voters hoping to skip lines on Election Day.
But a condensed early voting schedule in Collier County paired with one of the longest ballots on record has election officials asking voters to be patient — and prepared — when they head to the polls this coming week.
"We are deploying every piece of equipment we have," said Tim Durham, Collier County's deputy supervisor of elections. "We have more booths. More personnel. More equipment."
Collier County voters will have eight consecutive 12-hour days to vote early before Nov. 6 — from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. today through Nov. 3. That's far fewer days than voters had in August, when voters had two weeks to cast their ballots before the Aug. 14 primary.
Florida legislators last year approved changes to the state's election laws. Those changes, among other modifications, cut back the number of early voting days.
Collier County falls under the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which requires that covered counties get federal pre-approval for election law changes. Collier didn't get the preclearance in time for the primary, so this will be the first election in which the changes to early voting go into effect.
The change, which puts Collier's schedule in line with the rest of the state, doesn't mean voters will have less time to vote than they did in August.
Instead, Durham said "even though the time frame is compressed, (polls are) open for many more hours" each day than before. Early voting also will be available for the first time in Collier County on Sunday. And if Collier voters want to beat the crowds, Durham said Sunday may be just the day to do that.
This is the second election in which Lee County will operate under the revised early voting schedule.
Sharon Harrington, Lee County's supervisor of elections, said while the polls were opened for eight days in August, they weren't open for 12 hours a day. Instead, Harrington said, the county decided historically low turnout in primaries didn't warrant the full 12-hour voting schedule.
Three months later, Harrington said she's still happy the county didn't keep the polls open for 12 hours a day.
"It was such a lousy turnout," she said.
But Harrington said she's expecting anything but lousy turnout this time around. Lee County's five early voting locations will be open the full 12 hours, and Harrington said she's deploying as much equipment and staff as they can to help out during busy periods.
Christopher Mann, an assistant political science professor at the University of Miami, said supervisors and campaigns alike are pushing voters to vote early — whether by mail-in ballots or at the polls — in an effort to curb long lines, and potential problems, on Election Day.
"Supervisors of elections are trying to minimize the load on Election Day," he said.
Minimizing the load on Nov. 6, though, may mean early voters could spend more time in line this week.
Harrington said it could take someone at least 10 minutes to fill out Lee County's four-page, front-and-back ballot. And that estimate, Harrington said, is for someone who is coming into the voting booth prepared. Harrington said if someone is seeing the ballot for the first time — particularly the 11 constitutional amendments — it could take them much longer to complete the entire ballot.
Collier County's ballot is slightly smaller. Collier voters have a three-page, front-and-back ballot when they head to the polls this week.
Durham said voters should study their sample ballots, fill them out in advance, and bring them into the booth as a reference. That will save time and help eliminate lines during busy times.
Both Durham and Harrington said lines may be shorter during off-hours, such as between 7 a.m. and 10 a.m. or after 6 p.m. Both offices also plan to put information online about how long the wait is at early voting locations.
"You know this is going to happen, you can't help it. There's going to be a lot of people," Durham said. "But people should not be afraid, if there is a wait ... go to another one of the early voting sites."
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