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Election office in city returns home

By Staff | Aug 26, 2015

CHUCK BALLARO From left, Jo Ann Beaumont, Michelle Bell, Lydia Salazar, Supervisor of Elections Sharon Harrington, Jennifer Erickson, Bernie Feliciano and Vicki Collins celebrate the new Cape Coral branch office Monday.

It was a homecoming of sorts for the Cape Coral Supervisor of Elections branch office.

After spending the last several years in an office complex across the street, the elections office has moved to much larger spaces at the Lee County Government Center at 1039 S.E. 9th Place.

The supervisor’s office celebrated the occasion Monday with a ribbon-cutting and an open house for people to look around. Among those in attendance were members of the Cape Coral Chamber of Commerce and a representative from U.S. Rep. Curt Clawson’s office.

For Sharon Harrington, Lee County Supervisor of Elections, the new home couldn’t come at a better time, especially with local elections coming up in November and a presidential election next year.

Harrington said the original, smaller elections office was in the government building on the first floor on the opposite end of the building where they’re at now.

“We they redid the entire bottom floor, we were able to come back and set up shop here,” Harrington said.

In the meantime, the elections office was moved to a building across the street for roughly five years. Though it was slightly bigger than the previous office, it pales in comparison to the new offices, Harrington said.

The new office will have a separate room for early voting, making for a much easier process for them. It will also have plenty of storagearea .

“Early voters can walk in one door and come out the other. There will be plenty of parking, which was an issue at the old office, during early voting especially,” Harrington said.

People will be able to register to vote and order mail ballots or even drop off a mail ballot in the box, Harrington said.

And since the county owns the building, the elections office won’t have to pay rent like it had to before at the old building, making the move a cost-cutting measure as well. Harrington didn’t have the exact figures, as they went directly to the county.

The occasion was also marked by the promotion of their presence on social media. The Lee County Elections office can be followed on Twitter Facebook and Instagram.