Credit: Miami Herald.
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article290751199.html
As election season officially begins, early voting for Florida’s Aug. 20 primary election opened Monday in Miami-Dade and Monroe counties and will start Saturday in Broward.
Early voting takes place two weeks before the Aug. 20 primary.
Here’s everything you need to know about where and how to vote during this primary season:
WHO CAN VOTE?
As Florida has a closed primary, only registered voters with a political party affiliation may vote for candidates from that party. That means Democrats vote in Democratic primaries and Republicans vote in Republican primaries. This includes races for Congress, the state legislature, countywide sheriff races and other contests.
In non-partisan races, anyone can vote, including voters not registered with a political party. Non-partisan races include elections for judges, county commissioners, school board members, community council seats and the Miami-Dade mayoral contest.
WHERE TO VOTE?
Miami-Dade County will have 23 polling locations where voters can cast their ballots through Aug. 18. During the week of Aug. 5, these voting sites will be open from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., weekdays. During the week of Aug. 12, weekday hours will be from 11 a.m to 7 p.m.
Weekend hours will be from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. for both weekends of voting. If you’re concerned about waiting in line, wait times are updated online.
In Broward County, early voting begins Aug. 10 and runs through Aug. 18. There are 28 locations available for early voting. Each of these locations will be open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. during early voting.
Monroe County has five locations in which voters can participate in early voting, starting Monday, Aug. 5 These locations are open from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Aug. 18.
During early voting, voters can vote at any open polling location in their county. If voters vote on Aug. 20, the actual Election Day for the primary, they must vote in the precinct and voting location listed on their Voter Information Card.
WHAT DOCUMENTS DO I NEED TO BRING?
Voters must bring a current and valid photo ID with them to their polling location of choice. The ID must contain a signature. Examples of valid IDs include a drivers’ license or passport.
Campaign workers gather across the street for early voting at the Little Haiti Cultural Center in Miami, Florida, one of 23 polling sites that will be open from Aug. 5 to Aug. 18, 2024, as part of the early voting period before the Aug. 20 primary election in Florida. Carl Juste cjuste@miamiherald.com
WHAT IF I’M NOT REGISTERED TO VOTE?
The deadline to register to vote for the Aug. 20 primary closed July 22. That means you cannot vote in the Aug. 20 primary if you did not register by then.
Voter registration for the Nov. 5 general election closes Oct. 7 for vote-by-mail ballots, early voting and in-person voting. People can register to vote online at RegisterToVoteFlorida.gov.
For the online application, registrants will need their Florida driver’s license or Florida identification card issued by the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, the issued date of their chosen ID and the last four digits of their Social Security number.
Residents can also register to vote in person at a Florida driver’s license office, a tax collector’s office that issues driver’s licenses or ID cards or a voter registration agency.
Registration by mail or in person requires a filled statewide voter registration application form (DS-DE 39), which is available in English and Spanish and Creole. The forms have detailed instructions on how to complete your registration and submit the form.
VOTING ON AUG. 20
For those planning to vote on Tuesday, Aug. 20, polling locations will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Voters can check their precinct online at the Florida Division of Elections. The required documentation is the same for Election Day voting and early voting.
Remember, you must vote at the precinct and voting location listed on your Voter Information Card if you are voting on Election Day.
Even without an ID that meets the requirements, voters can still cast their vote through a provisional ballot, so long as you are eligible, voting in the proper precinct and the signature on the provisional ballot matches the signature on the registration record.
MAIL-IN BALLOTS
The deadline to request a ballot by mail is Thursday, Aug. 8, for the primary election.
Mail-in ballots must be received at your county’s Supervisor of Elections Office no later than 7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 20, in order to be counted.
Those who requested vote-by-mail ballots by the Aug. 8 deadline for the primary election are registered to vote by mail throughout the general election season as well.
In the Nov. 5 general election, mail-in ballots have to be received at the supervisor of elections office by 7 p.m. Nov. 5.
Overseas voters have a 10-day extension for getting their ballot into the election supervisors’ office for the Nov. 5 election, “provided the ballot is postmarked or dated by Election Day. Untimely received ballots are otherwise not counted,” according to the Florida elections website.
You can request a vote-by-mail ballot one of three ways: Using Form DS-DE 160 (Statewide Vote-by-Mail ballot Request Form); in person at a supervisor of elections office; by calling the supervisor of elections office in your county.