Drive for newest voters in Seminole County breaks record

SEMINOLE COUNTY, FL – The Seminole County Supervisor of Elections office registered a host of first-time voters last week in record-breaking fashion.

November 18, the office registered or pre-registered 228 new voters at Oviedo High School, shattering the single day high school record set last spring at Lake Brantley High by nearly 100 new voters. The breakdown of registrants at Oviedo High School was: 117 Republicans, 76 Democrats, 31 No Party Affiliations, two Independent Party, one Libertarian, and one student listed themselves as a communist.

The office also conducted a straw poll of the students via the new touchscreen voting technology. In that poll, their favorite president of all time was Ronald Reagan and their favorite music was rock, edging out rap and country.

The day before a different kind of new voter was registered in droves. The elections office took part in a new citizen naturalization ceremony for the region held at the Sanford Civic Center. There, 59 new voters were registered by the Seminole County office for counties throughout the region. Of those new voters living in Seminole County, there were four Republicans, two Democrats and six new voters with no party affiliation. The office also registered 47 voters for the surrounding counties of Orange, Brevard, Osceola and Volusia.

Supervisor of Elections Mike Ertel says, “It was a heartwarming two days. The excitement on the faces of our country's newest citizens, some who will be able to vote for the first time in their lives put chills in my spine and a lump in my throat. The next day at the high school was a testament to the next generation of voters' desire to be involved in the process that affects their lives. For those who value the freedoms we enjoy, those two days were a snapshot of the beauty and importance of our country's sacred right to vote."

The previous two weekends, the Seminole County Elections office took part in registration drives with an artistic flair. The office had a tent located at the Lake Mary Heathrow Festival of the Arts, and the following weekend, there was a tent at Oviedo's Great Day in the Country arts and crafts event. For each event, the elections office was granted free space from the organizers, and took full advantage of that opportunity. Over the two weekends 58 voters were registered in the county: 23 Democrats, 16 Republicans and 19 with no party affiliation. The office also registered four new voters for surrounding counties.

This is all part of a larger effort by Ertel to increase opportunities for voter registration in the county. This Summer, his office kicked off its Voter Welcome Wagon, in cooperation with the Apartment Association of Greater Orlando, where 86 or the county’s 112 apartment complexes will include new voter registration applications with all new leasing packages. July also was the kickoff of the First Weekend program, where the office provided materials and voter registration training to participating houses of worship, so they may schedule voter registration drives the first weekend of each month. The office is also continuing its First Voter program, in cooperation with Seminole County schools, registering or pre-registering high school seniors.

To contact the Supervisor of Elections office about conducting a registration drive for your organization, contact Alex Setzer at 407.708.7707.


Media contact Michael Ertel, Seminole County Supervisor of Elections at 407.708.7712 or ertel@VoteSeminole.org.