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Voters head to the polls today to decide multiple mayoral races in Palm Beach County

Posted at 10:04 PM, Mar 11, 2019
and last updated 2019-03-12 09:12:10-04

PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — Countless council seats, electing a new mayor and issues impacting your community are all on the ballot for Tuesday’s municipal election in Palm Beach County.

“I encourage you to get out and vote,” said Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Wendy Sartory Link, in a video posted to social media Monday.

Link is encouraging voters to make their voice heard, bringing identification and be prepared ahead of Tuesday’s election.

🗳ELECTION RESULTS: Check results starting at 7 p.m. Tuesday

“For me, of course, it’s all huge and big and brand new, but for the staff it’s a smaller election,” Link said.

It’s the first test for the new supervisor after Susan Bucher was ousted by Gov. Ron DeSantis in the aftermath of the 2018 vote recounts.

“Everything has had a full round of maintenance on it since the last election and it’s all ready to go,” Link said. “Everything has been fixed and corrected that’s gone wrong before.”

RELATED: Race for West Palm Beach mayor: Keith James, Paula Ryan, Priscilla Taylor candidate interviews

Sixteen municipalities are holding races in Palm Beach County, and turnout is expected to be between 30 and 35 percent.

One of the biggest issues is in Lake Worth where voters will decide to keep the city’s name or change it to Lake Worth Beach.

“I think Lake Worth Beach will be a good change, it will definitely increase some tourism around here,” said Rick Sundermier, who often visits the beach.

In November, the city commission said the name change will help the city compete for tourists and distinguish itself when it comes to crime from unincorporated Lake Worth.

“A lot of the crimes that happen outside of Lake Worth, just because they’re along the Lake Worth corridor, people say oh that happened in Lake Worth when it didn’t happen in Lake Worth,” said Commissioner Omari Hardy in November.

On Monday, poll workers were busy counting mail-in ballots inside the tabulation center, and Link says everyone is ready.

“It’s just one of those things you want it to go right, really want it to be smooth, we want to be timely,” Link said.

The supervisor added this will be the last election with the older machines. New ones have been ordered and are set to arrive by the end of April.

Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.