It’s Election Day, but it’s quiet at one polling station

Written by WSLR News on Wednesday, November 4, 2026

WSLR News reporter Ramon Lopez brings his impressions from the Venice Community Center.

By Ramon Lopez

Original Air Date: Nov. 3, 2026

Host: You may have gotten the gist by now—it’s Election Day! WSLR News reporter Ramon Lopez stopped at one polling station in Sarasota, and here are his impressions.

Ramon Lopez: November 3: Election Day for the nation. I’m in front of the Venice Community Center. Today it serves as Precinct 511, one of several in Venice, Florida where locals are casting their ballots to fill national, state and county elected offices.

Front entrance of the Sarasota County Property Appraiser, Supervisor of Elections and Tax Collector building. A sign directs voters, "Vote Here."

Photo: Ramon Lopez

There’s also a local election ongoing here. Voters are casting ballots in two city council races although five uncontested seats are up for election—one of which is being given up by Venice Mayor Nick Pachota, who is running for a State House Seat.

The polls are open from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. But it’s quiet here. No long lines for those wishing to cast their ballots. This is most likely due to in-person early voting, which ended Sunday, and also vote-by-mail.

WSLR spoke to two Venice residents after they voted—or, I should say, performed their civic duties, according to the pair.

Voter: It’s my duty. Maybe I’m old-fashioned; I remember the days when that was a big deal, to get off work and go and vote in person. It’s a special day. I think it’s part of being a good citizen. If you want to live in this country, we have a lot of privileges that we have gotten because of our forefathers. It’s to honor the people that came before us that were able to put this together for us. Otherwise, we’d be going and seeing the king or the queen today.

I think what goes on in the day-to-day news cycle and all of that is not as material as my duty to vote. I just think, no matter who’s on the ballot, it’s a duty of a citizen to vote. If you feel like you’re a responsible party or person, you should make an effort to do it. I like doing it in person because I enjoy seeing all the volunteers that work in the polls. I know that that’s a big sacrifice for them, and I have a lot of respect for them.

I am a conservative. Most of my life, historically, I’ve been registered as a Republican. I think it’s important for everybody to vote. If you don’t vote, you can’t complain.

A long line of campaign signs along a sidewalk. In the background, campaign workers man tents and folding tables.

Photo: J. Werner

RL: Sarasota County has 334,000 registered voters. As of Monday, November 2, 154,000 ballots had been cast through returned vote-by-mail ballots and early voting, according to the Sarasota Supervisor of Elections. That represents turnout of 46%. The total includes 75,000 returned vote-by-mail ballots and about 79,000 early voting ballots.

For many, Tuesday’s midterms is a referendum of U.S. President Trump’s performance over the past two years.

Not one campaign worker was at hand at Precinct 511 today. It’s busier at the small county library just across the street. But Democrats and Republican candidates have scrambled in recent days to deliver their final pitches to voters with control of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives—both currently held by Republicans—at stake.

This is Ramon Lopez for WSLR News in Venice, Florida.

WSLR News aims to keep the local community informed with our 1/2 hour local news show, quarterly newspaper and social media feeds. The local news broadcast airs on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6pm.