Live Election Day updates: Florida voter website goes down, bad weather, stickers galore
Here’s what to know about Election Day in South Florida on Tuesday. This live feature will be updated through the day.
What to know right now
▪ Polls are open: Hours are 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 5. If you are in line by 7 p.m. closing time you will be allowed to vote.
▪ Precincts: On Election Day, you must vote at your assigned precinct. Visit the Supervisor of Election websites in Miami-Dade, Broward and Monroe counties. There, you can check your voting status, track your ballot, and find out where your assigned precinct is if you don’t know where it is on Election Day. Hint: It’s printed on your voter ID card, too.
▪ ID: You must bring a current and valid photo ID with signature with you to the precinct. These may include: a Florida driver’s license or Florida identification card issued by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. United States passport. Military identification. Student identification. For a full list visit Florida’s Division of Elections website.
▪ Need help? Listing of all of Florida’s Supervisor of Elections offices with links to contact them is at MyFloridaElections.com.
— In Miami-Dade call 305-499-8444 or visit Miami-Dade’s website at www.miamidade.gov/global/elections/home.page.
— In Broward call 954-357-7055. Or visit Broward’s website at browardvotes.gov/.
— In Monroe, the Florida Keys elections office offers an online portal at www.keyselections.org to answer voting questions.
▪ Voter guide: Miami Herald voter guide lists the candidates and issues, includes endorsements from the Editorial Board, and even offers tips on what you can bring to the polling place. (Is it OK to bring a sample ballot or wear a political slogan?).
Where the candidates voted
Former president Donald Trump voted in his adopted home state, Florida, in Palm Beach County. He’s awaiting results from his Mar-a-Lago estate, according to reports.
Vice President Kamala Harris reportedly cast her vote by mail-in ballot, CBS Austin reported.
State website went down
Some Florida voters found error messages when they went to the state’s website to check their voter registration status Tuesday morning, according to the Associated Press. A spokesperson for Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd confirmed the state’s online Voter Information Lookup tool went down and was experiencing technical issues Tuesday morning. Said spokesperson Mark Ard: “We’re working to resolve it. We’re providing alternative websites and locations for voters to find their voter information, their precinct.”
You can check your voter registration status, find your precinct and polling place by going to your county Supervisor of Elections website. You can find your Florida’s Supervisor of Elections office with its contact link at MyFloridaElections.com. That site lists all 67 counties.
— In Miami-Dade call 305-499-8444 or visit Miami-Dade’s website at www.miamidade.gov/global/elections/home.page.
— In Broward call 954-357-7055. Or visit Broward’s website at browardvotes.gov/.
— In Monroe, the Florida Keys elections office offers an online portal at www.keyselections.org to answer voting questions.
What Florida’s ‘I Voted’ stickers look like
One activity voters seem to enjoy at the precinct after they cast their ballot is securing an “I Voted!” sticker to their clothing. Florida’s 67 counties each make a different fashion statement.
Last fall a hand-drawn, flag-waving manatee design by Manatee High School freshman Lauren Holbrook was a Boys & Girls Club of Manatee County contest winner, NPR’s WUSF reported. Her design was chosen for the 2024 election season, including the General Election on Nov. 5.
Here’s a look at a few of this year’s designs.
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Never too early to learn about voting
After getting a tour of voting precincts 601 and 608, Elizabeth Reyes, 12, hugged her mother Christine Reyes at the Coral Gables Country Club on Election Day on Tuesday.
Elizabeth was a poll worker during a mock election at her school, Henry S. West Laboratory School in the Gables.
— AL DIAZ
Wind advisory, rain in forecast
Election Day in Miami opened with a wind advisory warning of gusts up to 40 mph through 1 a.m. Wednesday.
East winds are expected at 20 to 30 mph Tuesday with gusts up to 40 mph in coastal Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, according to the National Weather Service in Miami. Some of these gusty winds could blow around unsecured objects like potted plants and yard furniture. Tree limbs could snap and a few power outages may result, forecasters said.
The weather service increased rain chances from a 50% forecast a day earlier to 60% during polling hours of 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. The percentage bumps to 70% around 11 p.m. to 2 a.m. when you’re home watching results come in from swing states.
Slippery surfaces
Be mindful of potential hazards on wet surfaces. A voter said she slipped and fell on her way out of Precinct 669 in Little Havana on a video posted to X around 10:30 a.m. Tuesday.
In the clip she said she told poll workers at Iglesia Adventista del Septimo Dia on 862 SW Fourth St. that she almost slipped coming up the stairs on her way inside to vote. She said she asked them to place a second caution cone to warn that the walkway may be slippery.
“Mop it up or do something because it’s not right,” she said in the video after she had fallen on her way back out after voting.
When she exited, she said she fell. Her leg slipped and swept backward — the same leg that was injured in a December car accident, she said. A photo on the X post shows her on the ground.
“My husband literally called it ‘the death slide’ just seconds before this lady fell trying to exit after voting,” Dani Rivera wrote on her X post.
Warning: Video contains explicit language
Who led the Early Voting race?
About 50% of Florida’s registered voters cast their ballots in the first two weeks of early voting, according to Florida Division of Elections data and registered voters data analyzed by the Miami Herald on Monday.
Monday morning’s data shows that even though registered Democrats had submitted more vote-by-mail ballots, registered Republicans had almost 845,000 more votes — a number that includes both early voting and vote by mail — than Democrats. In total, over 8 million people had already voted through Sunday.
MORE: Half of Florida’s registered voters have already voted. See which party has the lead
— ANA CLAUDIA CHACIN
The presidential race
The presidential race tops your ballot. The race is razor-thin according to polls with each lead candidate generating strong opinions among voters.
Aaron Matthew Anderson, a 32-year-old California native and registered Republican living in South Florida, voted for Donald Trump in the 2020 election. The self-described businessman who said he hopes to raise a family one day affirmed he did so again while casting his vote last week during the early voting period at the Aventura Branch Library. He “one-thousand percent” believes that he should keep the money he makes.
“The government is not going to be the one feeding my children, clothing my children and taking care of their needs — I am,” Anderson said. “Kamala won’t only further hurt the economy, but use our hard-earned money to try and solve world problems before problems are solved at home. Can’t water somebody else’s grass before your own.”
For Claudia Quintana, a 52-year-old Colombia native, registered as an independent, the 2024 election will be her first time voting since she became a U.S. citizen last year. As an immigrant, she said she strongly values immigrant rights and educating people on what immigrants contribute to the country.
Although she considers her culture more conservative and traditional, she said, “I would be betraying my people if I voted for someone like Trump who talks about us and treats us like we are less than human.”
Quintana voted for Kamala Harris with the hope that the vice president will stand up for immigrants and women in the country and internationally. “I hope she can prove to everybody that women can do it!”
— PAU SALINAS ZEPEDA, University of Miami Communication School student
What’s on your ballot?
Here’s how the names in that race will appear on all ballots statewide since the presidential contest is open to all voters unlike district-only races.
U.S. PRESIDENT
▪ Donald J. Trump / JD Vance
▪ Kamala D. Harris / Tim Walz
▪ Chase Oliver / Mike ter Maat
▪ Claudia De la Cruz / Karina Garcia
▪ Randall Terry / Stephen Broden
▪ Peter Sonski / Lauren Onak
▪ Jill Stein / Rudolph Ware
UNITED STATES SENATOR
▪ Feena Bonoan
▪ Tuan TQ Nguyen
▪ Ben Everidge
Read the Editorial Board’s endorsement
KNOW MORE: Here are the candidates and races South Florida will vote on for the general election
Need to know more about what’s on the ballot in addition to the U.S. presidential and senate race?
▪ Get a rundown of the six state constitutional amendments on the Florida ballot, including abortion and marijuana. There is much interest among voters in these amendments so here is a quick listing with links on each for more details.
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
▪ No. 1: Partisan Election of Members of District School Boards
Read the Editorial Board’s endorsement
▪ No. 2: Right to Fish and Hunt
Read the Editorial Board’s endorsement
▪ No. 3: Adult Personal Use of Marijuana
Read the Editorial Board’s endorsement
▪ No. 4: Amendment to Limit Government Interference with Abortion
Read the Editorial Board’s endorsement
▪ No. 5: Annual Adjustments to the Value of Certain Homestead Exemptions
Read the Editorial Board’s endorsement
▪ No. 6: Repeal of Public Campaign Financing Requirement
Read the Editorial Board’s endorsement
▪ Learn about the local candidates and races in South Florida.
▪ Hear from the candidates themselves as they answer Herald questions.
▪ Read the endorsements and recommendations from the Miami Herald Editorial Board.
This story was originally published November 5, 2024 at 5:00 AM.
