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Jennifer Edwards may have lost her voice last week, but the Collier County Supervisor of Elections did not lose her focus.

With a little over three weeks to go until Election Day, Edwards said in a crackling voice that her office and those of colleagues around the state are ready for what could be a record turnout of voters spurred by economic conditions and a highly visible presidential race.

Faced with the final day of registration last Monday, Edwards said her staff worked until midnight to process all applications before the deadline passed. Similar stories were heard from supervisors elsewhere in the state.

“We’re all expecting heavy turnouts. I’m confident we’ll be ready,” said Edwards, president of the Florida State Association of Supervisors of Elections.

With such a high-profile race taking shape and Florida again in the cross-hairs, state election officials met with their local counterparts Friday to smooth wrinkles and avoid potential pitfalls as supervisors prepare for record turnout, new polling machinery and election procedures.

Secretary of State Kurt Browning urged local supervisors to follow directives approved by federal courts on the state’s no-match/no vote law that requires local election rolls to match a statewide database for the vote to count.

“I’ve been portrayed throughout the state and the nation in media reports as a suppressor of voters… and that is not the case,” Browning told supervisors in a conference call. “But I need to uphold the laws of Florida.”

State figures released last week shows an estimated 804,000 new voters registered. More than 160,000 people registered last month alone, according to Division of Elections figures. Of those, the Democratic Party gained 72,189 voters compared to 52,070 for the Republicans and 38,319 others.

The state’s no-match voting procedures have drawn fire from some supervisors who say state requirements conflict with local safeguards that are equally effective but less restrictive.

“I think the state has gone beyond the intent of the law,” said Pinellas County election supervisor Deborah Clark.

With 22 days left before the general election and practice run-throughs slated for this week, Browning met with supervisors via telephone during a series of conference calls. During a session with supervisors from sparsely populated counties, Browning and the department’s attorney fielded questions on issues ranging from space constraints to whether poll workers could use the bathroom.

A former local supervisor himself, the secretary urged local supervisors to be as accommodating as possible to the throngs of poll watchers, voters and advocacy groups that may target polling places across the state.

“Let me caution you about going outside (the federal guidelines),” Browning said. “You may be heaping hot coals on your head.”

While urging tolerance for legitimate political discourse, Browning told supervisors to deal quickly with suspected cases of voter fraud, encouraging them to contact local state attorneys to initiate legal procedures.

But despite increasing acrimony among the major parties as their campaigns draw to a close, Florida elections chief Don Palmer urged supervisors to remember basic tenet.

“It’s fundamental that we treat every voter with dignity and respect,” Palmer said.

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E-mail Michael Peltier at mpeltier1234@comcast.net.