JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – After watching the people in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and more than a dozen other states get all the love from the presidential hopefuls over the last few weeks, it’s time to vote in Florida. And while there are more than a dozen candidates listed on the Democratic ballot, only a few are still in the race.
Early voting in the March 17 Florida Presidential Primary began Monday in Jacksonville and other of Florida’s largest counties and will spread to all 67 counties by Saturday.
Duval County Supervisor of Elections Mike Hogan told News4Jax he is expecting 40% of the overall turnout will be from early voting.
“Early voting keeps increasing as far as folks using that venue,” Hogan said. "That’s wonderful for us because it takes a lot of stress off Election Day and takes a lot of stress off our folks. They’re coming in daily so we can process them.”
Scroll down for locations, dates and hours of early voting locations in every county in northeast Florida
Some voters didn’t wait. More than 816,000 Florida voters had returned vote-by-mail primary ballots as of Sunday afternoon. By Thursday, nearly 944,000 mailed ballots were received across the state -- 24,378 just in Duval County.
Hogan said vote-by-mail ballots are actually coming in a little slower than he expected.
“I believe that’s because some folks are waiting on Super Tuesday. There are 16 candidates on the Democratic ballot. After Super Tuesday, about 50% of the delegates will be already out. I think some folks are going to be waiting," he said.
Voting by mail, or absentee voting, continues through the close of business on March 17.
Don’t be surprised
Florida primaries are “closed," meaning you can only vote for a person of your own party in a primary election, so only registered Democrats will see the names of those we’ve been reading about and vying for attention at the televised debates.
Also, there are few names on the Democratic ballot that even those paying attention to the race might not recognize, plus a bunch of candidates listed who have already dropped out of the race. The Republican ballot lists three candidates running against President Donald Trump.
More than 1 million vote-by-mail ballots had to be printed in January so they could be sent out in early February, so the ballots list all candidates who had qualified, not the current slate of active candidates.
GET A PREVIEW | The Florida 2020 Presidential Preference Primary ballot
In-person voting
Early voting uses the same voting equipment that is used at the polls on Election Day and voters can cast a ballot at any location in their county. Early voting ends the weekend before the primary election. On Election Day -- March 17 -- voters can only cast a ballot at their assigned precincts.
In order to vote at the polls during early voting or on Election Day, citizens must show a current and valid picture and signature identification. (List of acceptable forms of photo identification) If your photo identification does not contain your signature, you will be required to show an additional form of identification that provides your signature.
Voting by mail continues through the close of business on March 14. Voters must request a ballot mailed by March 7 or ballots can be picked up at their local elections office at any time up to and including Election Day.
MORE ONLINE | Where the remaining Democratic candidates stand on the issues | St Augustine voters also face charter questions | Early voting also underway in Georgia | What if you’ve voted and your candidate dropped out?
Early voting dates and locations
On the map below, zoom to your county and point to the early voting location most convenient to you to see the exact location and times for early voting. Or scroll down for a text listing of all poll locations and links to your county’s supervisor of elections office.
Duval County - March 2-15
All sites are open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. except for the Supervisor of Elections main office downtown, which is open 8 a.m to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.
- Supervisor of Elections Main Office, 105 E. Monroe Street
- Argyle Branch Library, 7973 Old Middleburg Road South
- Beaches Branch Library, 600 3rd St., Neptune Beach
- Bradham-Brooks Branch Library, 1755 Edgewood Ave. West
- Gateway Town Center Tax Collector’s Office, 910 W. 44th Street
- Highlands Regional Library, 1826 Dunn Ave.
- Legends Community Center, 5130 Soutel Drive
- Mandarin Branch Library, 3330 Kori Road
- Murray Hill United Methodist Church, 4101 College St.
- Oceanway Community Center, 12215 Sago Ave.
- Pablo Creek Regional Library, 13295 Beach Blvd.
- Regency Square Branch Library, 9900 Regency Square Blvd.
- San Marco Branch Library, 1513 LaSalle Street
- South Mandarin Branch Library, 12125 San Jose Blvd.
- Southeast Regional Library, 10599 Deerwood Park Blvd.
- University Park Branch Library, 3435 University Blvd. North
- Webb Wesconnett Regional Library, 6887 103rd St.
- West Branch Library, 1425 Chaffee Road South
Clay County - March 6-14 - all sites open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- Supervisor of Elections Office, 500 N. Orange Ave., Green Cove Springs
- Orange Park Library, 2054 Plainfield Ave., Orange Park
- Oakleaf Residence Club, 3973 Eagle Landing Pkwy., Orange Park
- Fleming Island Library, 1895 Town Center Blvd., Fleming Island
- Keystone Heights City Hall, 555 Lawrence Blvd., Keystone Heights
- Middleburg Civic Center, 2102 Palmetto St., Middleburg
St. Johns County - March 7-14 - all sites open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- Supervisor of Elections Office, 4455 Avenue A #101, St. Augustine
- Julington Creek Annex, 725 Flora Branch Boulevard, Saint Johns
- Ponte Vedra Branch Library, 101 Library Boulevard, Ponte Vedra Beach
- Southeast Branch Library, 6670 U.S. 1 South, St. Augustine
- St. Augustine Beach City Hall, 2200 A1A South, St. Augustine Beach
- Hastings Branch Library, 6195 South Main Street, Hastings
Nassau County - March 6-14 - all sites open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- James Page Governmental Complex Supervisor of Elections Office, 96135 Nassau Place, Yulee
- Walter “Junior” Boatright County Bldg. Community Center, 45401 Mickler Street, Callahan
- Hilliard Community Center, 37177 Pecan Street, Hilliard
- Atlantic Recreation Center, 2500 Atlantic Avenue, Fernandina Beach
- Yulee Sports Complex Community Center, 86142 Goodbread Road, Yulee
Putnam County - March 4-14 - all sites open 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
- Elections Office, 2509 Crill Ave., Suite 900, Palatka
- Interlachen Community Center, 135 S. County Road 315, Interlachen
- South Putnam County Government Complex, 115 N. Summit Street, Crescent City
Columbia County - March 7-14 - sites open 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
- Supervisor of Elections Main Office, 971 W. Duval Street, Lake City
- Fort White Community Center, 17579 SW SR 47, Fort White
Baker County - March 5-14 - 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
- Supervisor of Elections Office, 32 North 5th St., Macclenny
Bradford County - March 7-15, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- Bradford County Courthouse, 945 N. Temple Ave., Starke
Flagler County - March 7-14 - all sites open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- Supervisor of Elections Office (located in Government Services Building), 1769 E. Moody Blvd, Building 2, Bunnell
- Flagler County Public Library, 2500 Palm Coast Parkway N.W., Palm Coast
- Palm Coast Community Center, 305 Palm Coast Parkway NE, Palm Coast
Union County - March 7-14 - Monday-Saturday, 8 a.m.-6 p.m., Sunday 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
- Supervisor of Elections Office, 175 West Main Street, Lake Butler
Alachua County - March 6-14 - all sites open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- Supervisor of Elections Office, 515 North Main Street, Suite 100, Gainesville
- Millhopper Branch Library, 3145 NW 43rd Street, Gainesville
- Tower Road Branch Library, 3020 SW 75th Street, Gainesville
- J. Wayne Reitz Union, UF Campus, 655 Reitz Union Drive, Gainesville,
- Legacy Park, 15400 Peggy Park, Alachua
- Orange Heights Baptist Church, 16700 NE SR 26, Hawthorne
To check your voter status or for early voting locations and times in other Florida counties, visit dos.MyFlorida.com.