Get Ready For Primaries!
The August primary is almost on us. Have you registered to vote? The deadline to register to vote is July 25 (Monday) for the August primary, and October 11 for the general election in November. The good news is, that it is easy to register online at https://registertovoteflorida.gov/eligibilityreactive?ref=voteusa_en if you have a Florida driver’s license or a Florida ID card. You will also have to give the last 4 digits of your Social Security Number. If you don’t have those things you can go to the Supervisor of Elections office to register. If you miss the July 25 deadline you can’t vote in the primary, but you can still register now to vote in November.
If you are already registered to vote it is important to check that the address on your ID matches the address on your voter registration. https://dos.myflorida.com/elections/for-voters/check-your-voter-status-and-polling-place/ While you are verifying that information, check to see where you will be voting. Most counties had precinct location and number changes. If you still have questions, contact the office of Mike Hogan, Supervisor of Elections. The SoE is an elected position so the customer service is usually friendly and helpful.
To see your sample ballot, fill out the form on this web page: https://www.duvalelections.com/Voter-Information/My-Sample-Ballot Because Florida has closed primaries, you might not see the other party’s candidates on your ballot. This is an explanation from the Florida Department of State website
“...Only voters who are registered members of political parties may vote for respective party candidates or nominees for an office in a primary election including a presidential preference primary election. A person can register with a party or change his or her party affiliation at any time but in order to vote for a party candidate in an upcoming primary election, the person must register with that party or change his or her party by the registration deadline for that primary election (applicable also to a presidential preference primary election). See section 97.055, Fla. Stat.
However, there are times when all registered voters can vote in a primary election, regardless of which major or minor political party they are registered with or even if they are registered without a specific party affiliation:
If all the candidates for an office have the same party affiliation and the winner of the primary election will not face any opposition in the general election (i.e. no write-in candidates have qualified), then all registered voters can vote for any of the candidates for that office in the primary election.
If races for nonpartisan (i.e., free from party affiliation) judicial and school board offices, nonpartisan special districts, or local referendum questions are on the primary election ballot, then all registered voters, including those without party affiliation are entitled to vote for those races on the ballot.” (https://dos.myflorida.com/elections/for-voters/voter-registration/closed-primary-party-affiliation/)
At a general election, all registered voters receive the same ballot and may vote for any candidate or question on the ballot. If there are write-in candidates who have qualified for a particular office, a space will be left on the ballot where their name can be written.
While there’s not much time left to register for the primary, there’s still plenty of time to get to know the candidates. Check often for information about events and candidates on this website.
- Written By Jennifer Cox
