BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – A beachside early-voting site has been moved due to a red tide outbreak along sections of the Space Coast, according to News 6 partner Florida Today.
Brevard County Supervisor of Elections Lori Scott said there will be no early voting at the Irene H. Canova Park Clubhouse in Indian Harbour Beach. Instead, there will be early voting at the Satellite Beach Public Library, 751 Jamaica Blvd.
Scott said workers setting up the Canova Park Clubhouse voting site were feeling the effects of the red tide, and she felt it would be better to move the site for the comfort of the polling site staff and voters coming there.
"I cannot thank the library staff enough for working with me to ensure the health and safety of Brevard’s early voters, my staff and my poll workers," Scott said.
Some residents didn't seem to mind the change and appreciated that elections officials were being proactive.
"It’s not that much of an inconvenience. That’s a nice gesture on their part to look out for people’s health," Brevard County resident Avery Vannoy said.
Brevard County government leaders say the red tide is affecting almost every beach county in Florida. In the meantime, they’ve put up signs at beach access points and parks across the county, and said they're doing all they can to keep residents and visitors safe.
"We have 72 miles of shoreline in Brevard County. There are ample areas to enjoy the ocean," said Brevard County Public Information Officer Don Walker. "If they experience any kind of respiratory issues, watery eyes, irritated throat, that we’d recommend going to another beach area or get inside."
Residents told News 6 they're also taking precautions of their own.
"Just staying off the beach basically," Vannoy said. "Avoiding the beaches. I used to go down there daily [for the] sunrise kind of thing, but I just stopped and I’m waiting for it to pass."
Resident Catherine Tanner said she's waiting it out.
"We were pretty surprised the first day because you could definitely smell it when you went outside, but it seems to be livable. You just have to stay inside," Tanner said.
Anyone looking to participate in early voting still has options.
Early voting at nine sites around the county runs from Saturday through Nov. 3. The polls are open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekends.
During that period, voters can cast their ballots at any of the nine sites, regardless of where they live.
In addition to the Satellite Beach Public Library, the early voting sites are:
• Catherine Schweinsberg Rood Central Brevard Library, 308 Forrest Ave., Cocoa.
• Kiwanis Island Park Gymnasium, 951 Kiwanis Island Park Road, Merritt Island.
• Max K. Rodes Park Community Center, 3410 Flanagan Ave., West Melbourne.
• Palm Bay Elections Office, 450 Cogan Drive S.E., Palm Bay.
• Titusville Elections Office, 400 South St., Titusville.
• Tony Rosa Palm Bay Community Center, 1502 Port Malabar Blvd. N.E., Palm Bay.
• Viera Regional Community Center, 2300 Judge Fran Jamieson Way, Viera.
• Wickham Park Community Center, 2815 Leisure Way, Melbourne.