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Early voting concerns are causing many citizens to wait until Election Day to cast a ballot

Posted at 5:17 PM, Nov 04, 2016
and last updated 2016-11-06 11:26:22-05

Despite a high turn out of early voters Susan Hill of Palm Beach County does not feel comfortable casting her ballot just yet.

"The biggest driving force behind my decision to wait until Election Day is all of the pertinent information that's still out there on the media on social media," she said. "There's  a lot of information leaking."

Hill says the roller coaster ride of the election has her waiting until the last possible moment.

"I want to make sure I have all of the information that's out there," she said.

She added that she's also worried about how secure her vote would be if she voted early.

"The state of Florida has a history when it comes to the Bush/Gore election, so I definitely feel more secure voting on Election Day. I know that my vote is in there, it's not lost in the mail, it's not a ballot that's thrown out."

Martin County Supervisor of Elections, Vicki Davis, said voters have nothing to worry about.

"We pre-test every piece of equipment before deploying it out into the field. If there were any question about security or vote count, we can always go back and count those paper ballots," she said. "We're required by law to transmit our early votes and our votes-by-mail totals 30 minutes before the polls close to the Division of Elections in Tallahassee."

Victoria Weidel of Jupiter said she is not convinced. She wanted to vote on Friday, but then changed her mind.

"I thought of this about about a month ago and there was no question whatsoever that I was going to vote on Election Day," she said.  "Because I do not trust what's going to happen beforehand."

Davis said she understands the concerns voters may have.

"I think a lot of people are traditional voters and they really like to go on Election Day, it helps them feel patriotic," she added.

But she says on the flip side, Davis said voting early can help the elections offices avoid being overwhelmed on Nov. 8.

"It really takes a lot of pressure off of our precincts. There won't be lines," she said.

Either way, Hill says her choice to wait until Tuesday gives her peace of mind.

"Whether those are meritless feelings, it definitely makes me feel better to wait until Election Day," she said.

Another concern voters have is something Donald Trump said recently that has the internet buzzing. He was asking people to go back out and change their early vote.

Davis said although some laws in other states may be different, that is not allowed in the state of Florida.

"Once you cast your vote -- whether if it's early, by mail or on Election Day -- it's a done deal," said Davis.

The last day for early voting is on Saturday Nov. 5 in Martin and St. Lucie counties. Palm Beach County voters have until Sunday evening.

For early voting times and locations click here.