You’ve seen the yard signs on the street and the mailers in your mailbox, and may have seen an online or TV ad or two: candidates for public office are doing what they can to get your vote.
Now you can do what the U.S. Constitution says you can do: cast the vote, based on your preferences and convictions.
Early voting in Osceola County began Monday at locations across the area. Those nine locations are open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. through Aug. 21 ahead of the Aug. 23 election day.
(Keep in mind, you had to be registered to vote prior to July 25 to be a valid voter this time around — if not, register by Oct. 11 to vote in the Nov. 8 general election. Also, bring photo ID to your voting site.)
Those locations are:
The Supervisor of Elections Office (2509 E. U.S. Highway 192);
Celebration: West Osceola Branch Library (305 Campus St.);
Buenaventura Lakes: Robert Guevara Community Center, 501 Florida Pkwy.;
St. Cloud: St Cloud Civic Center, 3001 17th St.;
Downtown Kissimmee: Kissimmee Civic Center, 201 E. Dakin Ave.;
Kissimmee: Osceola Welcome Center, 4155 W. Vine St.;
Poinciana: The Gym & Aquatic Center, 625 Country Club Drive;
Narcoossee: Narcoossee Community Center, 5354 Rambling Rd.;
Campbell City: Osceola Tax Collector, 4730 S. Orange Blossom Trail.
The Supervisor of Elections has a web page (www.voteosceola.com/How-to-Vote/Vote-Early) dedicated to the process, including wait times at each location — all were under 15 minutes early Monday afternoon.
If you wait until Aug. 23 to vote, you will do that at your local polling place, based on your address. Need that location? Go to www.voteosceola.com/Voter-Information/Polling-Locations and enter your address or name and birthday.
And if you are in the, “Why should I vote in the primaries, they don’t matter much” camp, here’s why you should cast that vote: local races will be decided this month.
Two of the Kissimmee City Commission races — 40 percent of the board — will declare a winner on the 23rd. Three seats for the School Board are up for grabs: two three-way races that could have a winner this month if one candidate gets 50 percent of the votes, and a two-way race that definitely will name a winner this month. The County Commission district 4 and St. Cloud City Council seat 5 races could also be decided in the primary.
