Getting Gainesville voters to the polls this election season is a priority for several non-profit organizations within Alachua County.
The League of Women Voters of Alachua County works to encourage civic participation and voter registration year round, but has amped up its voter mobilization processes leading up to the November election.
The nonpartisan organization is taking initiatives to serve as a liaison between Alachua County residents and their casted ballots.
LWV of Alachua County president Janice Garry said she believes this year’s election season is especially important due to the local referendums on the November ballot.
A Gainesville city referendum would allow voters to choose whether or not to remove the state-appointed Gainesville Regional Utilities Authority Board and return its leadership to the city.
GRU has been owned and run by city commissioners for over 100 years, Garry said.
Also on the November ballot, an Alachua County referendum will ask voters to decide how county commissioners are elected.
County commissioners were originally appointed in an at-large district system, until a campaign was created to change it to a single district voting system, Garry said.
As such, each voter is only able to vote for the commissioner who lives in their district, she said.
The referendum gives Alachua County voters the chance to decide whether they want to return to an at-large system where county commissioners are elected by all voters.
It is crucial for voters to pay attention because of these impactful referendums, Garry said.
Through the league’s VOTE411 website, users can learn about their ballot choices, including political candidates’ stances on certain issues, she said.
The organization also hosts in-person events in an effort to inform and register Alachua County voters.
LWV of Alachua County member and volunteer Lisa Erickson is a member of the Voter Services Committee. The committee addresses voter registration, education and engagement within the league.
This year, Erickson took on the responsibility of creating a new program called “League at the Library.”
“One of our goals with League at the Library was to take our voter registration and information and engagement education programs out into the other parts of the county,” she said. “We wanted to do that by bringing it into people's neighborhood libraries.”
So far, the league has held tabling events at 11 of the 12 Alachua County libraries.
At each League at the Library event, volunteers invite members of the public to learn about and register for the voting process.
While the league is doing their part to engage voters, Gainesville residents themselves have an equal ability to play a role in the election process.
While she’s relatively new to Gainesville, hospitality industry member Jaqueline Russell said she’s registered to vote and has experience volunteering for former U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris.
Russell said she spent time working in the office answering the phones, completing paperwork and doing whatever was asked of her.
Her time volunteering was “a great experience,” she said.
The Alachua County Supervisor of Elections Office has worked closely to reach voters by assisting with the registration process and providing informational resources.
Aaron Klein, Supervisor of Elections director of communications and outreach, said the office has emphasized its online presence through press releases, emails and social media posts.
Representatives from the office also try to meet with Alachua County residents in person by seeking out common areas, Klein said.
“Whether that is [through] UF and Santa Fe, different major festivals and community gatherings around the county, we are trying to find places where Alachua County voters are congregating, and make sure they see we have a visible presence to answer their questions and help them get registered,” he said.
The voter registration deadline is Oct. 7, and early voting is happening at both Santa Fe College room F-029 and the Reitz Union Career Connections Center at UF.
Contact Julia Levi at jlevi@alligator.org. Follow her on X @julialevi55.
Julia Levi is a first year business student and the Alligator’s Fall 2024 Metro General Assignment reporter. In her free time, she enjoys reading, baking, and listening to music.
