MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. — South Florida voters head to the polls Tuesday for Florida’s primary election, with turnout in Miami-Dade and Broward counties lagging on Election Day.
In Miami-Dade County, 12.5% of registered voters had participated through early voting and returned mail-in ballots, according to Supervisor of Elections Alina Garcia.
The county has more than 1.6 million registered voters. Garcia said more than 80,000 additional voters would need to participate to bring turnout back in line with past midterm primaries.
Poll workers in Miami-Dade have been processing early and mail-in ballots at the elections warehouse. Garcia said ballots are counted using two separate systems as a check to make sure the numbers match.
“A lot of people don’t know this, but we have two different systems that count our votes, she said. “Voting is your civic duty and it’s the way that we keep our democracy healthy.”
In Broward County, turnout after early voting was below 10%, according to Supervisor of Elections Joe Scott, who called the participation “very slow — surprisingly slow.”
Scott said the low turnout was unexpected given the number of high-profile contests on the ballot.
Florida has closed primary elections, meaning voters generally can only vote for candidates in their own political party. But voters can also participate in nonpartisan races, including school board contests.
Election officials are encouraging voters to review their sample ballots before heading to the polls. Some districts have been redrawn, though Scott said those changes should not affect voters’ assigned polling locations.
“Your voting location on election day is going to be exactly the same,” he said.
While turnout has been low, election workers in both counties have been preparing ballots for counting.
Scott said election equipment has been operating without major issues.
“The equipment is running great — we haven’t had complaints this time around,” he said.
For some voters, the election is also personal.
Adela Barralaga said her mother was once an immigrant who later became a U.S. citizen, making voting an important responsibility for their family.
“For example, my mom, she was an immigrant, then she became a citizen, so I feel like there are so many people who were like her at one point that can’t vote at this time,” Barralaga said. “It’s important for her to vote and for me also.”
Voters who received mail-in ballots can still return them to their polling location by 7 p.m. Tuesday.
Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. as elections officials hope Election Day brings a boost in participation across South Florida.
More than 1,077 positions, ranging from national, state, county, or district office, are up for election during the primary. Click here for more information.
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