It's primary election day. What you need to know before you vote
News and commentary from Florida
Today’s the day that the two major political parties in Florida will ask voters to decide which of their candidates should appear on the November general election ballot.
Well, most voters. Not all.
As I’ve harped on this before, if you are among the more than 3 million registered voters who have chosen not to join the Democratic or Republican parties, you’ll have no say. But you will get to pay for it, so you’ve got that going for you.
But let’s shelve the Open Primary versus Closed Primary debate for now and look at the highlights of what’s at stake at the polls today.
DEMOCRATS
For Governor, the clear frontrunner and doubtless victor in this primary race is David Jolly, a former Republican congressman turned Democrat whose major opponent for the nomination, Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings, dropped out for health reasons.
Others on the ballot include Dayna Foster, Dotie Joseph, Evelyn Castillo-Bach, Stephann Norman and Thomas Fernandez. There are also numerous NPA and write-in candidates.
For U.S. Senator, the Democrats vying to take on appointed incumbent U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody are Alex Vindman and Angie Nixon. Vindman is a former Army officer who became famous for blowing the whistle on Donald Trump during his first term, leading to Trump’s first impeachment. Nixon is a state representative from Jacksonville.
Other state-level races of note include:
Chief Financial Officer: Annette Taddeo versus Earle Ford.
Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services: Donald Prichard versus Joey Atkins.
A helpful website with more information on candidates and organizations that are supporting them can be found at:
For a complete list of candidates for non-statewide races, such as for the Florida Legislature and Congress, check out this listing from the Florida Secretary of State’s office:
REPUBLICANS
For Governor: With Gov. Ron DeSantis term limited, there’s a mob competing for the job, but the clear frontrunner is U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds of Naples, who holds a commanding lead in the polls and in fundraising.
Other Republicans include Lt. Gov. Jay Collins, investor James Fishback, Jim Holcomb, Arthur Joseph McCaffrey, Daniel Nokovich, former House Speaker Paul Renner, Rachael Rodriguez, James W. Shaw, Caneste Cucce, and Bobby Williams.
For U.S. Senate, appointed incumbent Ashley Moody is considered a shoo-in, but she does have opposition from Chris Gleason, Neelam Taneja Perry and Ernie Rivera.
In other races:
Incumbent Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia faces Frank William Collige; and incumbent Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson is opposed by Matt Taylor.
For a complete list of candidates, check this out:
KNOW BEFORE YOU GO
To vote in person on Election Day, you must go to your designated polling location. To find your precinct polling place, the Florida Division of Elections has a county-by-county website, here:
You can also contact your local Supervisor of Elections Office for help. Here’s a website to find yours:
Do you still have your mail-in ballot? If so, you need to deliver it (or have it delivered) to your local Supervisor of Elections Office before 7 p.m. Or you can go to your local polling place and exchange it for a ballot and vote in person there.
When to Vote: The polls are open on Election Day, from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. (local time). Any voters waiting in line at 7:00 p.m. will have the opportunity to cast a ballot.
Identification: You must bring a current and valid photo ID with signature. Any one of the following photo IDs will be accepted:
Florida driver’s license
Florida identification card issued by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles
United States passport
Debit or credit card
Military identification
Student identification
Retirement center identification
Neighborhood association identification
Public assistance identification
Veteran health identification card issued by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs
License to carry a concealed weapon or firearm issued pursuant to s. 790.06
Employee identification card issued by any branch, department, agency, or entity of the Federal Government, the state, a county, or a municipality.
If your photo ID does not include your signature, you will be asked to provide another ID that has your signature.
If you do not bring proper ID, you can still vote a provisional ballot. As long as you are eligible and voted in the proper precinct, your provisional ballot will count provided the signature on your provisional ballot matches the signature in your registration record.
For more information, check out the Florida Division of Elections website here:
Thanks for your support
Since this newsletter was launched a year ago, hundreds of thousands of subscribers have joined the Tropic Press community, making this one of the fastest-growing publications of its kind.
Our goal here is to reach as many voters — especially in the Sunshine State — as possible, so that we can increase engagement in the political process and, hopefully, raise interest in voting today and this coming November.
Currently, Republicans have a huge advantage in voter registration in Florida, but when you combine Democrats and voters unaffiliated with the two major parties, the numbers are there to change the way our state is governed.
Here are the stats from the Florida Secretary of State’s office:
The key is voter turnout. We need to get people involved. That’s the goal here. And you can help.
If you are encountering this newsletter for the first time, please consider subscribing. If you are already a subscriber, consider upgrading your subscription to help this work continue.
Regardless, every person you share this with is one more potential vote for change.
Please share and help us make Florida — and America — better for all of us.
Thanks.
J.C. Bruce