Gainesville City Commission sets early voting days for November election, discusses appointments to Canvassing Board

BY JENNIFER CABRERA

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – At the end of the August 7 meeting, the Gainesville City Commission set the early voting days for the November election and discussed appointments to the Municipal Canvassing Board for the election.

City Attorney Dan Nee said they needed to make two decisions: the numbers of days and sites for early voting for the November referendum on the governance of Gainesville Regional Utilities, and the appointment of a City Commission representative to the Municipal Canvassing Board, which validates ballots and submits the official results to the Department of State, among other duties.

Ward: “I’m not going to do that this time, because I’ve been very vocal about how I think people ought to vote on this issue.”

Nee said the Canvassing Board consists of the Mayor or a member of the City Commission, but “if there are conflicts, if they’re actively involved in campaigns, time constraints, anything like that, then [if] no Commissioners can serve, then it would go to the City Auditor.” The second member is the City Clerk, and the third is a citizen appointed by the City Commission. Nee said the application for the citizen seat has already been posted, but he didn’t think anyone had applied.

Mayor Harvey Ward said, “I’m not going to do that this time, because I’ve been very vocal about how I think people ought to vote on this issue.”

Cost estimate was based on two early voting locations for three days

Commissioner Casey Willits said, “I also will be active, so I definitely can’t be on it.” He asked how many early voting days and sites were included in the estimate that the election would cost $225,000; Nee said he thought the estimate was based on two early voting locations for three days. Willits said he would prefer eight days, but he didn’t know how much that would cost.

Willits added, “Some UF students have been used to voting on campus, and that will throw them for a bit of a loop. So, you know, different advocates are going to have to get students off campus that day and get them somewhere else.”

Commissioner Bryan Eastman said he was open to having more early voting sites, but “I’m kind of weighing budget a little bit more than usual this year.”

Commissioner Ed Book said it was possible that Commissioner Desmon Duncan-Walker might be interested in serving on the Canvassing Board, but she wasn’t at the meeting, so he favored appointing the City Auditor to the board. He also proposed Patrick Sell, a former Soil and Water Conservation Board elected official, for the citizen seat: “He’s a family person, highly ethical, and would, I think, have a real ethical background for being on the Canvassing Board and is not high-profile and yet has credentials.”

Willits proposes appointing Kent Fuchs to the Canvassing Board

Willits said he had a “semi-serious” proposal for the citizen seat: UF Interim President Kent Fuchs. 

Commissioner Cynthia Chestnut said she wanted three sites and three voting days, and she recommended Carrie Parker Warren for the citizen seat. Ward said anyone can apply. 

City Auditor Stephen Mhere said he would be willing to serve on the Canvassing Board: “It’s basically an auditing function, and I’m very comfortable doing that.”

Motion

Eastman made a motion to appoint Mhere as the City Commission designee on the board and hold three days of early voting at the Millhopper Library and the Supervisor of Elections office. The motion passed unanimously, with Commissioners James Ingle and Duncan-Walker absent.