ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Orange County Supervisor of Elections Bill Cowles said when you take a look at Orange County’s new registered voter numbers, you can see the impact of COVID-19.
The numbers show that April saw 1,564 new registered voters, compared to 4,089 in April of 2016.
However, Cowles said, despite the drop off in the numbers from COVID-19, the overall numbers are still on track when you compare the new voter registrations between 2016 and 2020 for the first six months of the year.
And the number show just that.
June 2016 saw 24,467 new registered voters, and as of June 11, Orange County is at 24,519.
Cowles adds, with this year being a Democratic presidential primary, it impacted the early numbers, which he said helped make up for the dip during COVID-19.
“There was a lot of effort in a Democratic-majority county, in March, to push registrations,” Cowles said.
In terms of what the November elections might look like, Cowles said, right now they are proceeding as if they are going to do the elections just like they normally would.
He said voters will be able to early vote, vote by mail, and head to the polls to cast their ballots.
Cowles also said, as of Thursday, the No. 1 way people vote in Orange County is by early voting.
He adds that voting by mail is second, but said this year, he expects the vote by mail numbers to surpass the early voting in the 2020 elections on Aug. 18 and Nov. 3.