{"id":196913,"date":"2026-03-18T21:12:07","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T21:12:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/196913\/"},"modified":"2026-03-18T21:12:07","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T21:12:07","slug":"here-is-how-to-prepare-for-floridas-aug-18-primary-election","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/196913\/","title":{"rendered":"Here is how to prepare for Florida\u2019s Aug. 18 primary election"},"content":{"rendered":"

MIAMI \u2014 More than 1,077 positions, ranging from national, state, county, or district office, are up for election during the primary on Aug. 18<\/a> in Florida. <\/p>\n

There are dozens of candidates hoping to be elected to run in the general election on Nov. 3<\/a> to replace Gov. Ron DeSantis, who can\u2019t seek re-election for a third term.<\/p>\n

The deadlines to send vote-by-mail ballots are July 4 to Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act voters<\/a> and July 9\u201316 to domestic voters. July 20 is the deadline to register to vote<\/a> or change a party affiliation<\/a>. <\/p>\n

The deadline to request that a ballot be mailed is Aug. 6, and early voting<\/a> is Aug. 8\u20135.<\/p>\n

How to be prepared<\/p>\n

SEARCH DATABASES: Check that you are registered to vote, confirm your assigned voting precinct, and research your ballot<\/p>\n

Frequently asked questions <\/p>\n

Who can vote?<\/p>\n

To be eligible to vote, the applicant for registration has to be a U.S. citizen, a legal resident, at least 18 years old, and not be mentally incapacitated, or a convicted felon without a restoration of rights.<\/p>\n

A military member, a military family member, or an overseas citizen can register and request an absentee ballot with the online Federal Post Card Application<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Are independents allowed to vote in the primary?<\/p>\n

Florida is a closed primary election state, so only voters who are registered members of political parties may vote for respective party candidates.<\/p>\n

Who can\u2019t vote?<\/p>\n

A felony conviction in Florida for murder or a sexual offense makes a person ineligible to vote unless the State Clemency Board<\/a> restores the right to vote.<\/p>\n

How do I know if I am registered to vote?<\/p>\n

There is a database online to look up voter information<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Can this be done online?<\/p>\n

The voter registration process can be done online<\/a>. The application requires a Florida driver\u2019s license or identification card, the date when it was issued, and the last four digits of the Social Security Number.<\/p>\n

When can one pre-register to vote?<\/p>\n

Florida allows 16-year-olds to pre-register, but they won\u2019t be allowed to vote until they are 18 years old.<\/p>\n

Are there any restrictions to vote in the primaries?<\/p>\n

Florida is a closed primary election<\/a> state, so only voters who are registered members of political parties<\/a> may vote for their party\u2019s candidates or nominees.<\/p>\n

Independent voters may choose which party\u2019s primary they want to vote in.<\/p>\n

Who handles the process?<\/p>\n

The Supervisor of Elections<\/a> in the county of residence.<\/p>\n

Can a register by mail and cast a ballot by mail?<\/p>\n

Yes, if done on time and there is access to the forms online, a printer, and a post office. In Florida, all registered voters are allowed to register to vote<\/a> or vote by mail<\/a>.<\/p>\n

To vote: U.S. military members, military family members, and overseas citizens can register and request absentee ballot with the Federal Post Card Application<\/a> as soon as possible.<\/p>\n

If done in Miami-Dade, visit this page<\/a>. If done in Broward, visit this page<\/a>. If done on Monroe, visit this page<\/a>.<\/p>\n

To register: Download the form to print<\/a>, fill out, and mail.<\/p>\n

Here are the mailing dates to remember if mailing the application to register to vote in Florida:<\/p>\n

Applications for the March 19 presidential primary have to be postmarked by Feb. 20.Applications for the Aug. 20 state primary have to be postmarked by July 22.Applications for the Nov. 5 general election have to be postmarked by Oct. 7.<\/p>\n

Here are the mailing addresses<\/a> for Monroe, Broward, and Miami-Dade counties:<\/p>\n

BROWARD<\/p>\n

Broward County Elections Office<\/a><\/p>\n

4650 NW 21st Avenue<\/p>\n

Fort Lauderdale, FL 33309.<\/p>\n

MIAMI-DADE<\/p>\n

Miami-Dade County Elections Office<\/a><\/p>\n

Stephen P. Clark Center<\/p>\n

111 NW First Street<\/p>\n

Miami, Fla., 33128<\/p>\n

MONROE<\/p>\n

Monroe County Elections Office<\/a><\/p>\n

530 Whitehead Street #101<\/p>\n

Key West, Fla., 33040-6577<\/p>\n

What is the deadline to drop off my vote-by-mail ballot?<\/p>\n

Before 7 p.m., on Aug. 18. In Miami-Dade, sign inside the red box on the back of the vote-by-mail envelope<\/a>. If you forgot to sign the envelope or the signature does not match, Florida law allows you to submit an affidavit to cure your vote-by-mail ballot. The affidavit must be completed and submitted to the Elections Department along with a copy of your identification by 5 p.m. on the second day after the election.<\/p>\n

\u00b7 Vote-by-Mail Ballot – Signature Cure Affidavit<\/a> (English)<\/p>\n

\u00b7 Vote-by-Mail Ballot – Signature Cure Affidavit<\/a> (Espa\u00f1ol & Krey\u00f2l) <\/p>\n

Useful linksUseful contactsFor more information from the Florida Division of Elections, call 1-866-308-6739 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday.For more information in Broward, call 954-357-7050For more information in Miami-Dade, call 305-499-8683For more information in Monroe, call 305-292-3416<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 by WPLG Local10.com – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MIAMI \u2014 More than 1,077 positions, ranging from national, state, county, or district office, are up for election…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":196914,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[249,251,250],"class_list":["post-196913","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fort-lauderdale","tag-fort-lauderdale","tag-fort-lauderdale-headlines","tag-fort-lauderdale-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196913","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=196913"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196913\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/196914"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=196913"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=196913"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=196913"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}