Fla. voters seek to beat registration deadline

ESCAMBIA COUNTY, Fla. (WALA) - The Voter Registration Office got a lot of foot traffic in downtown Pensacola Tuesday, Oct. 9. 

It was the last day to register to vote in Florida for the upcoming November election. The state should prove to be a major prize for one of the nominees.

“Florida is now tied with New York for the third number of electoral votes in the country. The conventional wisdom says of the top four states, we’re the only true swing state. So all eyes are on Florida,” said Supervisor of Escambia County Elections David Stafford.

Numerous residents had their eyes on beating the deadline and being a part of that vote.

Jeremy Swindle and his family recently moved to Escambia County from Florence, Alabama, and registered on the last day.

“I believe this year's election is very important to our country. We believe in the ability and the right to vote. It’s a good thing my wife and I like to do. We wanted to make sure we were registered in time,” Swindle said.

Many folks said the registration process went quickly and smoothly.

Independent voter Michael Lindsey said staying busy kept him from registering, but he said it’s more important than ever.

“It’s definitely a big deal because there has never been more of a divergence between the (Democratic and Republican) parties,” said Lindsey.

Mary Turner took a cab with her young grandchildren to register.

“Our future is at hand. We want to go forward and not backward. We want to do things that are right for our children’s future,” Turner said.

Officials said they don't have an exact number of those who came to register on Oct. 9. but they said it was high as normal.