Question 1. During the primary election only 33.3% of registered voters came out to vote. If elected, what initiatives will you promote to encourage civic engagement and higher turnout?
Answer – As your Supervisor of Elections, we prepare for a 100% turnout in every election in hopes that the voters of Madison County will show up and participate. It is extremely hard to reach all demographics with election messaging, however there is always room for improvement. Voter outreach is incredibly important, and we encourage an invitation to our office to allow us to participate in events happening within our community. More election ads in the local newspaper will assist with reaching our target audience. Creating a more robust social media platform is an area I would like to see improved. With social media software now available to assist with ad creation, a more engaging social media platform will assist your elections office with civic engagement which hopefully will lead to higher turnout.
Question 2. What strategies do you plan to implement if voted into office to educate voters about the voting process, including changes to laws, registration, and ballot measures?
Answer – The election laws are forever changing. Having served as your Supervisor of Elections for the last four years I have seen changes in every Florida Statute dealing with elections. Educating the voters of Madison County about election laws will absolutely tie back into civic engagement. Getting those messages out in a method that hopefully the voters will read is always a struggle. Educating the voters to know the difference between political mail and your Supervisor of Elections official election mail will be a top priority in differentiating the difference. Voters must also take responsibility to ask questions when unsure and ask those questions to their Supervisor of Elections office. We should always be your trusted source for election information.
Question 3. What is your vision for the Elections office over the next few years, and what key changes do you hope to implement if elected?
Answer – After every election, your Supervisor of Elections takes the time to reflect on what we feel like worked and what improvements can be made leading into the next election cycle. A few improvements that are already on my radar are: 1) Updating end of life servers and desktops. 2) Researching a new software platform called “TextMyGov” which would give this office a more streamlined approach to a targeted group of individuals such as candidates, poll workers, and canvassing board members. It would also allow this office to mass text the voters within the county of upcoming deadlines and other important election information. Again, messaging is important for any election changes, civic engagement, and voter turnout. 3) Updating and implementing a stronger record retention policy. 4) Security is always a concern and researching what other layers of security might could be implemented would certainly benefit the voters of Madison County.
Political Advertisement paid for and approved by Heath Driggers, Republican Candidate, for Supervisor of Elections of Madison County.