Coronavirus probable cause for low election turnout and high vote-by-mail

Early voting attracted almost 18,000 participants on Tuesday August 18 in St Johns County, according to information obtained by Historic City News from the elections office.  However, more than 25,000 mail-in ballots were counted.

Vicky Oakes told our retiring editor in chief that she was disappointed in the turnout during the Primary Election.  Hard rain, some hail, and lightening in an afternoon thunderstorm did not help, according to Historic City News Storm Chaser Logan Parham. 

Deteriorating weather conditions were also called in from local poll workers who provided photographs from their precincts.  HCN photojournalist Mike Bowen traveled to several of the assigned polling places to provide a “welfare check” on volunteer poll watchers.

In sum, just less than 30% of St Johns County voters participated in Tuesday’s Primary.

The dust settled on the following races:

Rob Hardwick won over Chris Strickland in the race to replace Sheriff David Shoar.  Hardwick, who set a county record for cash campaign contributions, raised north of $431,000.  He pulled 69% of the vote. No Democrats oppose; however, Hardwick still has to defeat a blank line on the November ballot before his win is official.

The last-minute write-in candidate, Scott C. Boutwell, whose brother is a jailer employed by David Shoar, was a spoiler who kept nearly half of the county’s voters from having any say in who would be their next chief law enforcement officer.  If you were not voting as a properly qualified Republican, this race did not appear on your ballot.

We have tried several times to contact Boutwell, a regional maintenance manager with no apparent law enforcement experience who lives on Kings Estate Rd in St Augustine.  The Supervisor of Elections office reports Boutwell’s e-mail address as scbfixit00@aol.com.  We have tried, without response, to reach Boutwell at his e-mail or published mobile phone (904) 669-3032.  We are watching to see if he appears or drops out of the election before Election Day, November 3, 2020.

Also moving on to the November General Election is newcomer Christian Whitehurst.  He defeated incumbent Jimmy Johns with 65% of the vote. 

There will be a November Runoff between 62-year-old attorney Joan Anthony of New Smyrna Beach and 40-year-old Daniel Hilbert of St Augustine.  They will compete to fill the circuit judge seat in the Seventh Judicial Circuit that opened upon the retirement of Judge John Alexander.

Anthony has a law office in Daytona Beach, while Hilbert practices at Canan Law in St Augustine.  Hilbert won 37% of the vote while Anthony got 34% in the primary.  The third candidate, 54-year-old Mary Ellen Osterndorf of Daytona Beach, is out after finishing third with only 29%.

Incumbent, 45-year-old Circuit Judge Bryan Rendzio of Ponte Vedra Beach, lost his bid for election Tuesday.  Rendzio oversees a Unified Family Court in St Johns County.  At the time of the death of Circuit Judge Clyde Wolfe in 2018, Rendzio was appointed to the bench by former Gov. Rick Scott.  Palm Coast attorney, 50-year-old Alicia Washington, won 52% of the Primary Election vote.  Washington is also a Guardian ad Litem attorney.

Circuit Judge Mike Orfinger defeated challenger Anna Handy, who fell short in her challenge during a contentious campaign.  Orfinger collected 55% to Handy’s 45%.

Rep. John Rutherford easily held off fellow Republican challenger Erick Aguilar with 80% of the vote in the U.S. House of Representatives District 4 GOP primary. He will face Democrat Donna Deegan in the general election.

St. Augustine’s Karen Harvey won election as the Republican Executive Committee State Committeewoman. She earned 53% of the vote to 47% for challenger Tamara Renuart.