Supervisor of Elections changes south end precincts
New voting precinct slated for Midway Baptist Church
BY PAM BRANNON Gulf Breeze News news@gulfbreezenews.com

Some Midway and Navarre voters are getting a little extra elbow room. Midway is getting an additional voting precinct, and one Navarre precinct is expanding.

Ann Bodenstein, Supervisor of Elections, told Santa Rosa County Commissioners Oct. 11 that something had to be done to alleviate the pressure on the voting precinct in the south end at St. Sylvester's Catholic Church . "There were 8,500 voters at that precinct. The law only allows us to have one voting machine there at a time, but we have to change the machine out mid-morning in each election because it gets too hot. It gets so overheated it will not pull the ballots through," Bodenstein said.

She said Midway Baptist Church offered to be a host for a voting precinct four years ago if it was ever needed. That is where the new precinct is going.

"It will be named Woodlawn, and it will be number 41," she said.

She said this would not change any commission or fire districts.

"We also have moved all voters north of Highway 399 to precinct number 26, which is the Navarre Youth Sports Association Community gym. The change there will give us 5,525 voters there," Bodenstein said.

She said the major problem they are facing in the south end with growth is finding new places for voting precincts.

"We do not know of any right now that we are not using," she said. "We talked to a major player in Navarre, but they are not interested in hosting a precinct. So in the future, we hope in the south end some other places will become available."