More than one-quarter of Baker County’s eligible voters had cast ballots by midafternoon Tuesday, with Republicans and early voters accounting for most of the turnout in the 2026 primary election.
According to the county’s Turnout Quick View, 4,710 of Baker County’s 17,758 active eligible voters had voted as of the 2 p.m. update. That put unofficial turnout at 26.52%, with five hours remaining before polls close at 7 p.m.
Early voting was the most popular method, accounting for 2,610 ballots, or 55.4% of the reported total. Another 1,295 voters had cast ballots at Election Day polling places, while 805 voted by mail. No provisional ballots had been reported.
The midday figures suggest Baker County voters have shifted substantially from Election Day voting toward early voting since the previous midterm primary.
In the completed August 2022 primary, Baker County counted 5,961 ballots from 17,687 registered voters, producing a final turnout of 33.7%. Tuesday’s 2 p.m. count had already reached about 79% of that final ballot total but remained 1,251 ballots short.
A widely voted countywide contest in the 2022 primary provides a close approximation of how voters cast their ballots that year. In that contest, about 2,114 votes were cast early, 996 by mail and 2,643 on Election Day.
By comparison, early voting in the current primary had already exceeded the approximate 2022 final level by nearly 500 ballots as of 2 p.m. Mail participation was down by about 190 ballots, while Election Day voting remained well below the completed 2022 total.
Republicans dominate participation
Republicans had cast 3,928 ballots by 2 p.m., representing 83.4% of all ballots reported.
Democrats had cast 591 ballots, or 12.55%. Another 159 ballots came from voters with no party affiliation, while 32 came from voters registered with other parties.
A county precinct-registration report lists approximately 12,629 active Republicans, 2,834 Democrats, 1,884 voters with no party affiliation and 461 voters registered with other parties.
Using those registration figures, estimated turnout by 2 p.m. was approximately:
• 31.1% among Republicans;
• 20.9% among Democrats;
• 8.4% among voters with no party affiliation; and
• 6.9% among voters registered with other parties.
The registration report contains 17,808 active voters, 50 more than the 17,758 eligible voters listed by the live turnout portal. The difference may reflect when the reports were generated or which voters were eligible to participate in the primary, so the party turnout rates are approximate.
Even with that limitation, the figures show Republicans participating at a markedly higher rate. The estimated Republican turnout rate was about 10 percentage points above the Democratic rate and nearly four times the rate among voters with no party affiliation.
Florida’s closed-primary system limits participation by unaffiliated voters in most partisan contests, although those voters may cast ballots in nonpartisan races and any universal primary contests, which the county commission races here were this year since no registered party members or independents qualified for the ballot.
Republicans were particularly likely to vote early. Nearly 58% of Republican ballots were cast during early voting, compared with about 40% of Democratic ballots.
Democrats were more likely to vote by mail. Nearly 32% of Democratic ballots came through the mail, compared with 14.5% of Republican ballots. Election Day voting accounted for approximately 28% of the ballots cast by each major party.
Macedonia leads precinct turnout
Turnout varied considerably across the county’s nine precincts.
Macedonia Precinct 4C reported the highest rate at 35.5%, with 785 ballots cast. It was the only precinct that had already exceeded Baker County’s final 2022 countywide turnout rate of 33.7%.
Macedonia is also one of the county’s most heavily Republican precincts. Its registration report lists 1,737 active Republicans, 233 Democrats, 188 voters with no party affiliation and 48 voters registered with other parties. Republicans constitute nearly 79% of its active electorate.
Nearly two-thirds of Macedonia’s ballots were cast early. Its midday total was already within 44 votes of the 829 votes recorded there in a heavily participated countywide contest during the 2022 primary.
Glen St. Mary Precinct 5A produced the largest raw number of ballots Tuesday, with 1,039 votes and turnout of 27.21%. Its electorate is also heavily Republican, with 2,949 active Republicans compared with 413 Democrats.
North Macclenny Precinct 3A followed with 905 ballots and turnout of 26.03%. South Macclenny reported 820 ballots and 23.49% turnout, while Sanderson reported 568 ballots and 24.23%.
Olustee Precinct 6A had the county’s lowest turnout rate at 18.28%, with 51 ballots cast. Olustee has a more closely divided registration profile than most Baker County precincts, with 155 Republicans, 83 Democrats, 27 unaffiliated voters and 10 voters registered with other parties.
The strong turnout in heavily Republican Macedonia and Glen St. Mary is consistent with the countywide Republican turnout advantage. Registration alone, however, does not fully explain the precinct differences. Taylor, Baxter and Cuyler also have electorates that are more than three-quarters Republican but reported turnout rates near or below the county average.
Electorate is predominantly white and older
The demographic report shows that approximately 87% of Baker County’s active voters are white. About 8% are Black, 1.6% are Hispanic and slightly more than 3% are categorized as other races.
The racial composition differs considerably by precinct.
Sanderson has the county’s largest number of active Black voters, with 529 across all parties. Black voters constitute about 23% of its electorate. South Macclenny has 478 active Black voters, or approximately 14% of its electorate.
In most of the other precincts, particularly Glen St. Mary, Taylor, Baxter and Cuyler, the electorate is overwhelmingly white.
The voter roll also skews older. Approximately 4,358 active voters — nearly one-quarter of the county electorate — are age 65 or older. By comparison, about 1,931, or roughly 11%, are between ages 18 and 25.
Whether Baker County ultimately matches its 2022 turnout will depend on participation during the final hours Tuesday. The county needed approximately 1,250 additional ballots after the 2 p.m. update to equal the raw number cast in the last midterm primary. Polls remain open until 7 p.m. Voters in line at closing time are permitted to cast a ballot.