Candidate drops out of Palm Coast mayoral race; 6 remaining

Palm Coast Observer
News

One candidate has dropped out of the Palm Coast mayoral race two days after the qualifying period ended, leaving six candidates in the running.

WHEN AND WHERE TO VOTE

Early voting for Palm Coast's mayoral special election starts on July 17, and Election Day will be July 27. Here are the details.

Early voting

When: Saturday, July 17 through Saturday, July 24, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day, including weekends.
Where: Early voters may vote at any of the following three locations: The Flagler County Public Library, 2500 Palm Cast Parkway NW; the Palm Coast Community Center, 305 Palm Coast Parkway NE; The Flagler County Supervisor of Elections Office, 1769 E. Moody Blvd., Building 2, Bunnell.

Election Day

When: Tuesday, July 27, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Where: Voters who are voting on Election Day must do so at their assigned polling place. Find your precinct at the Supervisor of Elections Office website at https://www.flaglerelections.com/For-Voters/Find-Your-Precinct

Voting by mail

Mail ballots must be requested by July 17, and any registered voter may request one.
To request a mail ballot, call the Elections Office at 386-313-4170.
Voters must sign the return envelope, which must be received by the Elections Office by 7 p.m. on July 27 to be counted.
Allow 10 days' delivery time for ballots to be returned to the Elections Office by mail.
Mail ballots may also be delivered in person from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday inside the Supervisor of Elections Office.
Secure ballot drop boxes may also be used: They will be available at the entrance of the Elections Office during office hours starting on July 6, and at all early voting locations during early voting hours.
On Election Day itself, voted mail ballots may only be returned at the Elections Office, not at polling places.
People who receive a mail ballot but then decide to vote in person instead must bring the mail ballot with them to the polls. The mail ballot will be canceled, and the voter will be provided a new ballot at the polling location. (The mail ballot can not be used as a reference at the voting booth; a sample ballot should be used instead).

Registering

For people who are not yet registered to vote and would like to vote in the mayoral special election, the deadline for new voter registrations is June 28.

For more information, go to https://www.flaglerelections.com/Election-Info/2021-Palm-Coast-Special-Election.

The candidate, Kevin Cichowski, dropped out of the race on the morning of June 9. The qualifying period ended at noon Monday, June 7.

The Flagler County Supervisor of Electrons Office sent ballots to a printer on Tuesday, June 8, but the ballots had not been printed any the time the Elections Office learned that Cichowski was leaving the race, according to Flagler County Supervisor of Elections Kaiti Lenhart.

Had the ballots already been printed, reprinting them again would have cost about 20 cents per page, but because they hadn't been, the Elections Office will only have to pay $250 to send a new ballot without Cichowski's name. Cichowski, because he dropped out after the end of the qualifying period, will not be refunded his $1,140 qualifying fee.

Cichowski's withdrawal still leaves the Elections Office with some extra work: Now that the ballots will have one fewer name, the Elections Office has to redo its ballot testing process to ensure that the layout will be clear.

"It’s a couple days' work, but it’s better to do the couple days' work than have a ballot that’s confusing for voters," Lenhart said.

The Elections Office is working on a tight schedule to meet a Friday, June 11 deadline to mail ballots to overseas voters. Lenhart expected to meet it.

She urged residents to research the candidates and turn out to vote.

"I expect a good turnout," she said. "There's a lot of interest in this mayor's race. It’s a pivotal time for the city of Palm Coast."

The six candidates on the ballot will be David Alfin, Kathy Austrino, Carol Bacha, Doug Courtney, Cornelia Downing Manfre and Alan Lowe. There will be no runoff: The candidate with the most votes at the July 27 special election wins the race.