JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Floridians face a Monday deadline to register to vote in next month’s primary elections.
The Aug. 18 ballots in most counties will include partisan primaries for congressional and legislative seats. Also, voters will cast ballots in local races, many of which are nonpartisan.
Among the high-profile local races that may be settled in the August primary this year are competitive sheriff’s contests in Clay and St. Johns counties.
Who’s running for state and local offices this year?
“There is a lot of thought out there and misconception that since it is a primary election, only Democrats and Republicans are allowed to vote,” Leon County Supervisor of Elections Mark Earley said. “That is absolutely not true. There are lots of races that are for everybody.”
Voters who want to switch party affiliations or change their address also must make the changes by Monday.
Duval County Supervisor of Elections Mike Hogan said an 6,960 people have registered to vote since the presidential preference primary in March, bring the number of active voters in Duval County to 635,712.
Since the primary will take place during the pandemic, Hogan says poll workers will be prescreened, and have been trained on proper protocols to use to protect voters and staff from the virus. One worker will be dedicated to sanitizing the booths, surfaces and pens. All poll workers will have face shields.
Voting booths will be set up to respect social distancing. Hogan said his office has purchased 700,000 masks for voters.
Early voting in Duval County begins Aug. 3 and by the end of that week in all counties in Florida. More voters are expected to request vote-by-mail ballots than ever before to avoid going to voting precincts. They can be requested now through Aug. 8 at your county’s supervisor of elections office.
Statewide voter turnout during the 2018 primary elections was just 27%.
