Over a million Florida voters have already cast their ballots with less than a week remaining until the August primary election.
On Tuesday, the Florida Chamber of Commerce announced over 1,033,000 Florida voters had already voted in the August primary via vote-by-mail ballots and early voting.
Over 2.5 million Floridians requested vote-by-mail ballots, with over 2.3 million ballots provided to voters. Over 800,000 vote-by-mail ballots have already been returned.
A slightly higher number of Republicans have requested vote-by-mail ballots than Democrats -- 1.1 million to the Democrats’ 950,000. Nearly 450,000 No Party Affiliation/Independent Party voters requested vote-by-mail ballots.
The Florida Chamber also analyzed early voting and vote-by-mail ballots and found among all districts, the highest voter turnout has been in CD2 and CD11.
U.S. Rep. Daniel Webster will be running for the CD11 seat. Webster will vacate his current seat in CD10 and switch tracks to head back to Washington next year.
The clock is ticking for Floridians who want to vote by mail. They only have until Aug. 24 to request a vote-by-mail ballot and can only pick up vote-by-mail ballots until Aug. 29.
Ballots must be returned by 7:00 p.m. Aug. 30, when polling places officially close.
Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner reminded voters Tuesday to make sure they have ample time to mail back their ballots.
“I strongly encourage all Florida voters who have requested a vote-by-mail ballot for the upcoming Primary Election to allow sufficient time to return their vote-by-mail ballot” said Secretary of State Ken Detzner. “Vote-by-mail ballots must be received by your supervisor of elections office by 7 p.m. on election night, whether by mail or hand delivery. Voters returning vote-by-mail ballots should also make sure to sign the back of the return envelope. Plan ahead and make sure your voice is heard!”
Early voting began in many counties Aug. 15 and will be available in some parts of the state until Aug. 28, giving voters extra time to cast their ballots and avoid long lines at polling places at the end of the month.
There are over 9 million registered voters in Florida, with a slightly higher number of registered Democrats than Republicans.
The primary election will be held on Aug. 30.
Reach reporter Allison Nielsen by email at allison@sunshinestatenews.com or follow her on Twitter: @AllisonNielsen.
