ORLANDO, Fla. – Another election year is here and there’s no time like the present to make sure you are ready to vote.
You may already know that 2024 is a presidential election year. But in addition to voting for president, voters in Florida will also decide on:
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- 1 U.S. Senate seat
- 28 Congressional seats
- Members of the Florida Legislature (Florida Senate and Florida House of Representatives)
- State attorneys
- County offices (commissioners, school board members, sheriffs, supervisors of elections, etc.)
- Judgeships
- Potentially we should also have Florida constitutional amendments, along with local referenda from counties and cities
That’s just for the November general election. We’ll have two other elections this year: the presidential preference primary in March, and a statewide primary in August. City or town elections may also come up throughout the year.
Want to vote in Florida this year? Whether it’s your first time voting, or your voting circumstances have changed, here is everything you need to know to make sure your vote counts in 2024.
- How do I make sure I am eligible to vote? ▼
- Do I need to change my address if I’ve just moved? ▼
- When are the elections? ▼
- How do I vote in a primary? ▼
- Are all elections partisan elections? ▼
- How do I find out what races are up for election this year? ▼
- Does my boss have to give me time off to vote? ▼
- How do I vote by mail? ▼
- Can I vote early? ▼
- How do I vote if I’m living overseas? ▼
- How do I find where I vote?
- English is not my primary language. Can I get a ballot in another language? ▼
- What kind of identification do I need to bring? ▼
- What else can I bring to the polling place? ▼
- Why is it some candidates/races are not listed on my ballot, even though there is an election? ▼
- How do I write in a candidate? ▼
- What is a provisional ballot? ▼
- Why do some races require a runoff election? ▼
- Find election information for your county ▼
The first thing to do is make sure you are registered to vote. To do that, go to RegistertoVoteFlorida.gov. The site is run by the Florida Division of Elections. There, you can check whether you are registered, an active registrant and update your registration, if needed, or register to vote.
To vote in an election, you must be registered to vote 29 days before that election. So now is a good time to make sure your voter registration is squared away.
Here are the voter registration deadlines for the three major elections happening this year:
- March Presidential Preference Primary: Feb. 20.
- August Florida Statewide Primary: July 22
- November General Election: Oct. 7
When you look up your information, be sure to use the name you registered under – likely your full first name.
Have more questions on making sure you are eligible to vote in Florida? We’ve posted more answers HERE.
First, let’s be clear that if you move, you should always update your address with election officials. It does not get automatically updated if you move, even if you move within the state of Florida. It’s important to make sure you vote in the right precinct.
You can update your voter registration online at RegistertoVoteFlorida.gov.
However, if you move close to an election within a county, polling place workers should be able to look you up in their systems and register a change in residence on your file.
If you are moving from another state, you must register to vote in Florida. Your registration will not transfer from your former state.
Florida’s Presidential Preference Primary is March 19, 2024. There will only be a primary for Republicans this year, the Democrats canceled its presidential primary in Florida because President Biden is expected to be the nominee.
While only registered Republicans will be able to vote for the presidential primary, there may also be local elections in your area on that day. For instance, several cities in Orange County will have local elections on March 19. If your city is having an election on that day, you should be able to check that information with your local elections office.
Florida has a statewide primary on Aug. 20. This election is for party primaries for federal and state offices, though some elected county positions are also partisan elections too, like for sheriff or elections supervisor. There will also be nonpartisan elections for county offices and judgeships.
If you want to vote in a party primary, you can always change your political affiliation. You have up to 29 days before an election. More info on that is below.
The general election is Nov. 5. That election is open to all voters regardless of party.
Florida is a closed primary state.
In Florida, if an election draws more than one candidate from the same political party, there will be a primary election for that party.
For example, as mentioned before, Florida will only have a Republican primary for the presidential nomination on March 19. That means only voters who are registered Republicans can vote in that primary.
Now, if you decide you want to vote in that primary, you must change your party affiliation by Feb. 20.
If you want to vote in a party primary in August, you need to change your party affiliation by July 22.
Sometimes it might be in your interest to change your party so you can vote in the primary.
For instance, in 2020, the Orange-Osceola state attorney race drew several Democrats, no Republicans and a no-party affiliate candidate, Jose Torroella.
Because Torroella was less known, it meant the Democratic primary largely decided who would be the next state attorney for Orange and Osceola counties. Monique Worrell, a Democrat, won the election.
It’s a decision that comes down to what races are important for you to vote in.
In the instance that only candidates from one political party are running for office, the primary election becomes open to all voters. This is known as a universal primary.
Learn more about Florida primaries, the loophole that can keep them closed, and how to change your party affiliation HERE.
No, not all elections require candidates to declare whether they are a member of a political party.
Examples of nonpartisan county or city/town races can include:
- County mayor or chairman races
- County commission races
- City mayor or council seats
- Some county constitutional offices
- School board races
- Judgeships
County sheriffs are partisan races.
This may change depending on the county. For instance, county commission races in Orange County are nonpartisan, but in counties like Flagler or Seminole, they are partisan races.
Check with your county supervisor of elections to find out which races are partisan where you live.
The Florida Division of Elections says the following offices are up for election this year:
- U.S. Senator (Rick Scott is up for re-election)
- All U.S. House districts
- Odd-numbered Florida Senate districts
- All Florida House districts
- State attorney
- Public defender
- Judgeships
County and city elections are different depending on where you live. You can go to your county supervisor of elections office’s website to find out what districts you are in and what county elections you are voting in this year.
In the state of Florida, the answer is no. This is why it’s important to note that Florida has an early voting period and a no-excuse vote-by-mail ballot system, so that you can vote when you have the time, not just on Election Day.
To request a vote-by-mail ballot, call or visit your county supervisor of elections office, or send them a written request via mail, email or fax. You will need to provide officials with the following information:
- Voter’s name
- Date of birth
- Full address
- A Florida driver’s license, identification card, or the last four digits of the voter’s social security number for verification
- If you’re sending a written request, you must provide a voter signature
Once you get the ballot, fill it out and be sure to sign the certificate envelope provided. Make sure the signature matches the one on file with the county elections office. If there is a discrepancy you may be asked to correct or “cure” a missing or mismatched signature on your ballot.
Many counties also have a way to track your ballot online to make sure it’s been returned and accepted at your county elections office.
The ballot must be returned to the county supervisor of elections office by 7 p.m. on Election Day. This means if you mail in your ballot and it doesn’t get to the office by Election Day, it doesn’t count. So get your ballot in as soon as you can. You can also drop it off at the Supervisor of Elections office. Some county elections offices also have secure ballot intake boxes during the early voting period. Contact your county elections office to find out where a secure ballot intake box is.
More information on how to vote by mail is available on the Florida Division of Elections website or your county supervisor of elections office.
If you put in a vote-by-mail ballot request for the 2022 election, you need to put in a new request for 2024. This is because of a recent change in Florida law. The request will remain valid on your file for all of this year’s elections.
All counties have an early voting period before the primary and general elections. There’s a mandatory early voting period before each election, but counties have different days and times.
The mandatory early voting periods for elections this year are:
- March Presidential Preference Primary: March 9-16
- August Primary Election: Aug. 10-17
- November General Election: Oct. 26-Nov. 2
Early voting locations are not necessarily the same as your Election Day precinct. Public libraries are a popular place for early voting.
We’ll have more information as we get closer to the early voting period.
The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act allows members of the military, their voting-age family members and any U.S. citizen living outside the country to vote in elections.
To vote, you must request a vote-by-mail ballot.
County elections supervisors must send vote-by-mail ballots no later than 45 days before each election. The ballot can be mailed, emailed or faxed, based on your request. Only overseas voters can fax their ballots back.
Ballots should be returned to the county supervisor of elections office no later than 7 p.m. on Election Day.
However, an overseas voter has an extra 10 days from Election Day for a vote-by-mail ballot to arrive at the supervisor of elections office. This only applies to federal elections. The ballot must be postmarked or dated by Election Day in order to be counted.
The Federal Voting Assistance Program has specific return timelines for absent military and overseas voters.
All counties have a way to look up your voter precinct on their supervisor of elections websites. You can find your county’s website on the Florida Division of Elections site.
However, since right now the Florida Legislature is redrawing district maps, polling precincts may change.
County supervisors of elections will be mailing out new voter cards before the elections with the new info, so be on the lookout for those as well.
Election forms and ballots in Florida are available in English and in Spanish. However, some counties may provide ballots in other languages as well. It depends on the concentration of speakers of those languages in that county.
Check with your county supervisor of elections office to see what language guides may be available.
Florida requires voters to present a photo and signature ID in order to cast a ballot. If these are on separate types of ID, you can provide multiple forms if needed,.
The following forms of picture identification are allowed if they are current:
- Florida driver’s license
- Florida identification card issued by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles
- United States passport
- Military identification
- Student identification
- Retirement center identification
- Neighborhood association identification
- Public assistance identification
If you do not have a proper picture ID, you will be given a provisional ballot, which will allow you to vote and then later provide documents to prove your identity.
Also, if your ID does not have a signature on it, you may be asked to provide more forms of identification.
You are allowed to bring whatever materials you need, such as sample ballots, voting guides, newspapers or other documents, to help you vote.
Also, as long as you are not actively campaigning for a candidate, you are allowed to wear hats, shirts, stickers, buttons or other campaign paraphernalia.
If a candidate does not draw a challenger in a race, then that contest is not on a ballot. For that reason, you may not see that race on a ballot.
Write-in spaces are provided on a ballot if there are qualified write-in candidates. Only official write-in candidates are counted as valid votes. To find out who the write-in candidates are in a federal or state election, look at the Florida Division of Elections candidate database. For write-in candidates for local government, check out your county’s elections office website.
If there is a discrepancy in your identification or signature, or if someone challenges the validity of your ability to vote, you may be given a provisional ballot instead. You fill out a provisional ballot the way you would fill out a regular ballot, and then provide supplemental documents to prove your vote is valid to the county canvassing board.
Provisional ballots are counted if found to be valid.
In most elections, the candidate with the most votes is the winner. In some elections, particularly nonpartisan elections with more than two candidates, an outright winner of an election must garner the majority of all votes, what is known as “50% plus one.” If no one receives that majority of all votes cast, the top two vote-getters go to a runoff election to decide the winner.
Below are links to election information for Central Florida’s counties. You can look up other county elections offices through the Florida Division of Elections website.
ORANGE COUNTY
SEMINOLE COUNTY
OSCEOLA COUNTY
VOLUSIA COUNTY
BREVARD COUNTY
MARION COUNTY
LAKE COUNTY
SUMTER COUNTY
FLAGLER COUNTY
POLK COUNTY
- Early voting locations
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