How and where to vote in the 2024 Florida primaries? Voting center hours
This March 19 Florida is holding its primary elections. Here’s your the complete guide including voting hours, how and where to vote in the Sunshine State.
The race for the White House continues. This Tuesday, March 19, Florida will hold its primary elections, prior to the general elections on November 5. Voters will have a chance to show their preference for the candidate they want to run for the party of their choice.
What time do the polls open and where can I vote?
Voting polls will open from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. local time. Voters can cast their vote past 7:00 p.m., as long as they have been in the voting line before the cutoff time. To find out your voting center, go to your county elections supervisor. Here we share the list of supervisors in the state. To be able to vote, in addition to being registered, you must carry an official photo ID.
How to vote in the Florida primaries?
Unlike the general election, the Florida primary is closed, meaning that only registered voters affiliated with a party will be able to vote this Tuesday. To find out if you are registered to vote, visit the website of the Florida Secretary of State. The deadline to register as a voter for the primary was February 20, but voters can still register for the general election, up to 29 days before. To do this, you have to meet the voting requirements, which are:
- Be a citizen of the United States
- Be a legal resident of Florida
- Be a legal resident of the county in which you registered
- Be at least 18 years old (Floridians can pre-regisiter once they are 16 if they meet all other requirements)
- Not having been declared mentally incapacitated in Florida or any other state, without having the right to vote restored
- Not be a person convicted of a serious crime, without having their right to vote restored.
What is being voted on this Tuesday in Florida?
The name of the pre-candidates for the presidency will appear on the electoral ballots, although, in reality, they are voting for the delegates who will attend the Presidential Nomination Conventions of each party. There are two types of delegates: “committed” and “uncommitted”. The former vote for the candidate who wins the state, while the latter are not required to commit their vote.
This Tuesday’s elections only apply to the Republican party, since the Democrats did not register any other candidate for the vote, other than Biden, so the state chose to grant all its delegates to the current President and eliminate the Blue Party primaries.
In the case of the Republicans, the vote will be a mere procedure, since all pre-candidates, with the exception of Trump, have dropped out of the race, which leaves the former president as the only person eligible to receive any votes. However, since the ballots were printed in January, there will be names of Republican candidates who suspended their campaigns prior to the primary.
To win the party nomination, candidates must gather the minimum majority of delegates in their favor. The Republicans have 2,429 delegates, 1,215 are required to be nominated. Donald Trump reached that number last week to become the GOP presumptive nominee.
The Democrats have 4,672 delegates, while their minimum majority is 1,968 delegates. Biden also crossed that threshold last week to become the Democratic party presumptive nominee.