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The Caloosahatchee Bridge — a most important thoroughfare in addition to a major commuter route — suffered some injury from the close to Category 5 storm that each one however destroyed Fort Myers Beach and Matlacha and left devastating injury on Sanibel and all alongside the riverfront in Cape Coral, North Fort Myers, Fort Myers and extra.
Florida Department of Transportation officers introduced Tuesday that U.S. 41 on either side of the bridge was closed to north and southbound visitors, which was rerouted. It made night and morning commutes cumbersome however, after repairs, the bridge was re-opened this afternoon.
Ian’s second wave additionally has had some much less tangible — however equally vital — impacts as effectively.
Despite the benefit of vote-by-mail ballots, regardless of the comfort of early voting, many of us nonetheless take pleasure in casting our ballots on Election Day.
It’s a convention that has deep roots in our democratic republic and election night time nonetheless holds all of its pleasure for not solely these working, however for all of us who watch the outcomes as they’re reported on-line or by way of broadcast media.
This yr, although, Lee County voters who wait till Tuesday to vote could discover extra frustration than pleasure within the course of.
Hurricane Ian worn out a quantity of polling websites, broken many others and left employees, like far too many Southwest Floridians, homeless or coping with the broken houses.
The outcome?
Instead of the close to 100 precincts Election Day voters normally take pleasure in, there shall be solely a dozen websites all through the county, the identical websites up and working now as Early Voting areas.
This shouldn’t be a shock.
Gov. Ron DeSantis issued an Executive Order giving the Lee, Charlotte and Sarasota county Election Offices the authority to take care of the emergency-caused lack of websites and ballot employees.
The Lee County Elections Office formulated a plan for the General Election that careworn vote-by-mail, prolonged early voting through Nov. 8 as per the manager order after which urged — strongly urged — voters to take benefit and solid their poll early on the time and place that greatest labored for them.
But with Election Day now lower than every week away, the quantity of voters who’ve solid their poll by mail or at one of the early voting websites stays low.
Very low.
There are 518,035 registered voters in Lee County. As of this morning, 159,318 voted — 111,974 by mail, 47,305 by way of early voting. That’s about 30.75 p.c.
This doesn’t bode effectively for individuals who plan on ready till Nov. 8 to solid a poll in what is a vital election for Lee County voters.
The strains might be lengthy.
Very lengthy.
Count us amongst those that urge voters to return vote-by-mail ballots or to vote early now through Monday.
Lee County areas are:
n Cape Coral-Lee County Public Library – 921 Southwest thirty ninth Terrace, Cape Coral
n Lee County Elections Cape Coral Branch Office – 1039 Southeast ninth Ave.
n Northwest Regional Library – 519 Chiquita Blvd. N., Cape Coral
n North Fort Myers Recreation Center – 2000 N. Recreation Parkway
n Wa-Ke Hatchee Park Recreation Center – 16706 Bass Road, Fort Myers
n Schandler Park Suarez Hall – 419 Royal Palm Park Road, Fort Myers
n Lee County Elections Center – 13180 S. Cleveland Ave., Fort Myers
n Fort Myers Regional Library – 1651 Lee St.
n Veterans Park Recreation Center- 55 Homestead Road S., Lehigh Acres
n East County Regional Library – 881 Gunnery Road N., Lehigh Acres
n Estero Recreation Center – 9200 Corkscrew Palms Blvd., Estero
n Lee County Elections Bonita Springs Branch – 25987 S. Tamiami Trail #105
Hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Monday.
You could vote at any website the place an acceptable poll – your poll — shall be out there.
Florida regulation does require voters to present image and signature identification when voting in particular person so convey it with you. (An inventory of acceptable kinds of identification could also be discovered at www.lee.vote/Election-Information/Voting-ID-Requirements.)
If you do select to vote on Tuesday?
That actually is your proper.
And strains be damned — as earlier said, it is a vital election and the areas abouve shall be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Nov. 8.
At the native stage, Cape Coral voters will resolve 4 Cape Coral City Council races and a metropolis referendum that might give Council the authority to award property tax breaks to qualifying companies that spend money on town and create jobs.
Countywide, voters will resolve three School Board races and three County Commission seats in addition to a controversial referendum that might change the Lee County superintendent of colleges place from a School Board appointed publish, by repealing a decision permitted by the voters in 1974, to an elected workplace. (We are amongst those that have urged a “No” vote on this School District of Lee County referendum as it might enormously restricted the pool from which the extremely specialised administrative place might be chosen to run a $2.4 billion enterprise with 96 campuses, 97,000 college students and 13,000 staff. A “No” vote stays our advice.)
There are also quite a few state races, together with the workplaces of Governor, Attorney General, Chief Financial Officer, Commissioner of Agriculture in addition to two key federal races.
Officials do have some strategies, although, to make Election Day voting simpler for individuals who select to wait:
Bring your voter-specific pattern poll with you. The Lee County Elections Office started mailing them to Lee County voters who didn’t request a Vote-by-Mail poll starting Tuesday, Nov. 1. That General Election pattern poll will comprise solely the contests through which you might be eligible to vote.
Voters might also view, obtain, and print their personalized pattern poll at https://www.lee.vote/ .
We urge you to vote.
And we urge you to vote early.
Make your voice heard.
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