Want to cast a ballot in Florida’s 2020 elections? Your deadline to register is here
Voters in Florida will have a lot of choices to make in the November elections.
Your ballot will have local and state races and amendments. You’ll also get to pick if you want another four years of President Donald Trump or if you want former Vice President Joe Biden instead.
Before you can cast your ballot though, you need to register to vote in Florida. And your deadline to register is here.
The voter registration deadline is Monday, Oct. 5.
Remember, you need to be a U.S. citizen, a Florida resident and at least 18 years old to vote. You also cannot be a convicted felon who has not had their rights restored and must not have been adjudicated mentally incapacitated by a court, according to Florida’s Division of Elections website.
The easiest way to register to vote is by visiting RegisterToVoteFlorida.gov. You can also visit Florida driver’s license offices, tax collector’s offices that issue driver’s licenses or Florida identification cards, and other various agencies including offices that provide public assistance. Keep in mind that the COVID-19 pandemic may have altered the agencies hours of operations so call ahead before you visit.
Another option is to print out an application form either in English or Spanish at the Florida Division of Elections website and mail the form to your local Supervisor of Elections office. You can also bring it to the office. For a full list of places where you can register to vote, visit https://dos.myflorida.com/elections/for-voters/voter-registration/national-voter-registration-act/
To find the answers to other common questions people have about registering to vote or updating their voter registration information, visit https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/election/article245321180.html.
You can also call Florida’s Voter Assistance Hotline at 1-866-308-6739. The hotline is available Monday-Friday 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. with extended hours during statewide elections.
When is Florida’s deadline to request a vote-by-mail ballot?
If you’re thinking about requesting a mail-in-ballot, you still have until 5 p.m. Oct. 24 to do so but keep in mind that Florida, like other states, is expecting to see an increase of people casting their ballot by mail this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
More than 530,000 mail ballots have already been requested by Miami-Dade County voters, for example, compared to just over 400,000 vote-by-mail requests in the 2016 general election. What does this mean?
If you want to vote-by-mail in Miami-Dade, Broward, Monroe or any other Florida county, request your ballot from your county’s Supervisor of Elections Office, like now. And then send it back as soon as possible to avoid any potential mail delivery delays.
When are the next Trump-Biden presidential debates?
Those who want to vote in Florida’s 2020 presidential election but still aren’t sure if they want to be on the Trump Train or on Team Biden, you still have some time to decide. Election Day is Nov. 3.
And while the first presidential debate held earlier this week in Cleveland, Ohio, felt heavy on insults and light on substance, The Commission on Presidential Debates, which sponsors and produces the debates, is considering format changes for the next two presidential debates. CBS News reports that a possible change under consideration is cutting off the microphones of Trump and Biden if they break the rules, though nothing has been finalized yet.
The upcoming debate between Trump and Biden was set to be held Oct. 15 at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Miami but it’s unclear if it will still happen now that Trump has tested positive for COVID-19. The third and final debate is still expected to take place in Nashville, Tennessee, on Oct. 22, less than two weeks before Election Day.
This story was originally published October 1, 2020 at 10:22 AM.
