Early voting in Florida’s Republican presidential primary gets underway
Early in-person voting is underway ahead of Florida’s Republican presidential primary.
Republican voters in Miami-Dade County and across the state began casting their ballots at polling sites on Monday. Early in-person voting will run until March 17, two days before the March 19 primary election.
There are 23 early-voting sites located throughout Miami-Dade County. The Miami-Dade elections department is posting wait times for each site on its website.
Only registered Republican voters are able to participate in the presidential primary this year. The Florida Democratic Party submitted only President Joe Biden’s name for the party’s White House nomination. Under state law, if a political party puts up only one name for the ballot, the primary is canceled.
Republican voters, on the other hand, will be presented with a list of seven choices for the GOP’s presidential nomination, but only two of them — former President Donald Trump and former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley — are still in the race. Five others, ranging from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, have suspended their campaigns in recent months.
Trump is the heavy favorite to win both the Florida primary and the GOP presidential nod overall. He’s emerged victorious in nearly every Republican nominating contest so far, and polls of the primary race in Florida show him running ahead of Haley by wide margins.
While most Miami-Dade voters will only have to worry about the Republican primary, voters in South Miami and Surfside will also see municipal content on their ballots that all registered voters will be allowed to weigh in on.
A special election in South Miami will decide whether to amend the city charter to allow for leases of city property exceeding 50 years as it pertains to the redevelopment of City Hall, while voters in Surfside will elect their mayor and town commissioners.
Mail voting in Miami-Dade has already been underway for nearly a month. Those hoping to vote by mail will have until March 7 to request a ballot.
This story was originally published March 4, 2024 at 11:37 AM.