Orlando’s Election HQ: Florida votes today in statewide primary

ORLANDO, Fla. — Florida’s Primary Election is August 28, when voters registered with a political party get to choose among candidates to advance to the November 6 general election. Voters who are not party-affiliated will also cast ballots, but mostly are restricted to non-partisan races like judgeships and school boards.

In the case when one political party has candidates, but other does not, then unaffiliated voters will also have a chance to vote in that race in August, since the winner will not need to be on the November ballot.

In Orange County, the race for mayor is also open to non-partisan voters.

Seminole County voters are also choosing some local municipal races, in addition to the county, state and federal races in this mid-term election.

Voters in Kissimmee and St. Cloud are considering candidates to fill seats on their city council or commission. There are also several community development district elections, in addition to the major county, state and federal office races.

There are three ways to vote in Florida:

• BY MAIL: Vote-by-mail refers to voting a ballot received by mail or picked up by, or for, a voter. The deadline to ask for a ballot to be mailed is 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, August 22. A voter may pick up a vote-by-mail ballot from the office of their Supervisor of Elections through the day before the election or, if an emergency exists, on the day of the election. Vote-by-mail ballots must be received by the Supervisor of Elections' office no later than 7:00 p.m. on Election Day in order to be canvassed and counted.
• EARLY: Early voting is defined as "casting a ballot in person prior to Election Day at a location designated by the Supervisor of Elections." The voter uses the same type of voting equipment that is used at the polls on Election Day. All 67 Florida counties will be offering early voting from August 18 – August 25.
• ON ELECTION DAY: Polls will be open statewide from 7:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. Any voters waiting in line at 7:00 p.m. will have the opportunity to cast a ballot. If you do not know where your polling place is, contact your county Supervisor of Elections as some polling places have moved since the 2016 election. Voters will be asked to provide a current and valid photo I.D. at the polls.