Ron Turner has run elections in two different Florida counties, a distinction he says makes him the only person in state history to do it. As Sarasota County's Supervisor of Elections, filling in this week for an absent Brad alongside guest host Tom Cherichello, he pulls back the curtain on an office most residents only think about once every four years. His staff of 34 full-time employees balloons to include hundreds of seasonal workers and roughly a thousand poll workers by the time a November general election arrives, all coordinated months, sometimes a year, in advance.
Turner gets specific about security. Every paper ballot in Sarasota County runs through the primary counting system and then a second, independent audit system operated by his own IT staff, a full 100 percent audit rather than a sample. Vote-by-mail ballots are only sent to addresses the office has already verified, envelopes carry signature checks against records on file, and military and overseas ballots go out 45 days before an election, five days ahead of domestic ballots. He traces his own path into the job back to being mentored as a teenager by a neighbor running for sheriff in Dutchess County, New York, and recalls sitting through the chaotic 2000 presidential recount as a 22-year-old supervisor of elections, with Bush and Gore attorneys camped in his office for 35 straight days.
The conversation turns pointed when the hosts press Turner on qualifying fees, which can top 10,000 dollars just to get a candidate's name on a countywide ballot, and on the mechanics of petitioning as a cheaper alternative that requires collecting roughly 3,500 valid signatures. He also details how precinct boundaries get redrawn, why Sarasota County just grew from 99 to 103 precincts, and why there is no such thing as a single, uniform ballot on Election Day given how many overlapping districts exist across the county.
Turner closes on a personal note, describing the job as his life's work despite detours through the Chamber of Commerce and Habitat for Humanity, and predicting record turnout for the 2024 presidential election given Sarasota County's aggressive voter roll maintenance. Asked about roundabouts, he demurs as a nonpartisan officeholder before admitting he has learned to navigate them like everyone else, adding that his real complaint is red light cameras, which he calls a form of taxation without representation.
What you'll take away
- Sarasota County audits 100 percent of paper ballots through a secondary, independent counting system rather than relying on a sample.
- Qualifying to run for a countywide office like Supervisor of Elections can cost more than 10,000 dollars in filing fees, or require roughly 3,500 valid voter petitions instead.
- Vote-by-mail ballots are only mailed to addresses the office has verified, and every returned envelope's signature is checked against records on file.
- The county grew from 99 to 103 voting precincts after a year-long review of boundaries and district lines.
- Turner is one of only two current Florida supervisors, and the only person in state history, to have served as Supervisor of Elections in two different counties.
“Elections are kind of like plumbing. When it works, nobody really cares.”
“I'm not a legislator. I didn't run to be legislative or governor. I'm your supervisor of elections.”
Places mentioned: Sarasota County, Northport, Venice