Voters and candidates to return to the polls as early voting begins Monday in Miami
As Florida struggles with one of the worst coronavirus outbreaks in the country, elections supervisors will welcome voters back to the polls Monday, kicking off a two-week run-up to the Aug. 18 Florida primary.
Nearly two dozen early voting centers will open at 7 a.m. in Miami-Dade County, and dozens more in Monroe and Palm Beach counties. Early voting doesn’t begin in Broward County until Aug. 8.
The election is Florida’s second since the coronavirus pandemic began to spread. Close to 3 million people voted statewide in the March 17 Florida presidential preference primary, 650,000 of whom voted during Florida’s two-week early voting period.
At that time, the scope of the pandemic was only beginning to become clear. Now, more than 7,000 Floridians have died of COVID-19, many public venues remain closed and masks are required in public, including the polls.
“I’m not expecting huge crowds,” said Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections Christina White. “We typically don’t have them in a primary anyway. When you add in the fact that so many more people are probably voting by mail, that’s an added benefit to voters who are intending to vote in person.”
Early Voting Hours and Locations in Miami-Dade
Mail voting has been under way for weeks already in Florida as candidates fight to win races for Miami-Dade mayor, state attorney and dozens of other federal, state and local positions on the ballot. As of Sunday morning, roughly 100,000 Miami-Dade voters have voted at home and returned their ballot through the U.S. Postal Service, according to the Florida Division of Elections.
Elections supervisors believe as much as half the vote will come through the mail. Still, hundreds of thousands of people will vote in person across Florida before Election Day.
“We’ll be fully staffed, so we’re prepared from that perspective,” said White. “The poll workers are going to look different. They’ll have masks They’ll have face shields. We’ve given them gloves and they’re going to be asked to wipe down the common touch points.”
Though only light foot traffic is expected, the return of in-person voting will also attract campaigns and candidates, who under normal circumstances pepper voters with last-minute pitches and campaign material as they walk from their car to the voting booth.
Some campaigns say they will skip the 11th-hour courtship, at least during the early days of voting, when turnout tends to be lightest. But others plan to show up as soon as the doors open.
“Obviously, it’s a unique election cycle to say the least. We have to take it day by day,” said Christian Ulvert, a Democratic political strategist working on multiple South Florida campaigns, including the mayoral campaign of Miami-Dade Commissioner Daniella Levine Cava. “But we thought it was important, especially in down-ballot races, that voters who have final questions before making a decision on a race have an opportunity to talk.”
Marlon Hill, a candidate running in a 5-way race for the Miami-Dade County Commission District 9 seat representing South Dade, said he and his team will also be at early voting centers to meet voters and pass out campaign material, including campaign branded face masks. He said in an interview that he and his staff will be sensitive to health concerns, and will be wearing masks and practicing social distancing.
“To make that personal connection is probably the most precious part of the campaign,” said Hill. “But we have to be mindful of the circumstances we’re working under.”
Concerns about the spread of coronavirus at the polls are legitimate. Following the March 17 presidential preference primary, the Broward Supervisor of Elections announced that two poll workers had tested positive for COVID-19. And some candidates, including Broward state Rep. Shevrin Jones, have already come down with COVID-19 themselves.
Jones announced last month that he’d been cleared of COVID-19 after a two-week fight, but said in an interview that he remains concerned about close interactions between his campaign and voters. He said any campaign materials his staff hands out will be distributed in plastic bags, with hand sanitizer.
“I have a huge fear of being in contact with anyone right now because I just believe that it’s not safe for anybody,” said Jones, one of six Democrats running for a state Senate District 35 seat that straddles Broward and Miami-Dade counties. “With that being said, will I be out at the polls? I’ll be out there for a temporary amount of time. I’m not going to be shaking hands. But I’ll be there with my mask on and just letting the voters know I’m present.”
Miami-Dade’s early voting centers are open to any voter registered in the county. Closing hours, which depend on the day of the week, can be found at www.miamidade.gov/elections.
