With less than two weeks to go until Florida Republicans hold their presidential primary — and cities, towns and villages hold critical local elections — key deadlines are approaching.
People who want to vote by mail need to act quickly.
And those who prefer in person early voting are about to get their opportunity to vote that way.
Presidential primary
The marquee voting leading up to and on March 19 is the Republican presidential preference primary.
Even though former President Donald Trump is the all-but-official 2024 nominee, there are seven candidates on the ballot.
Among them: former Gov. Nikki Haley of South Carolina, Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida and former Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey.
All will be counted, even those who have dropped out.
Florida has closed primaries, which means someone who wants to participate must be a registered Republican. There is no Democratic presidential primary.
Local elections
Four Broward communities and 22 cities, towns and villages in Palm Beach County have elections for local offices that are nonpartisan and open to all voters regardless of party affiliation.
There are also referendums in three small pockets of unincorporated Palm Beach County in which voters are being asked if they want to be annexed into nearby cities.
All voters — Democrats, Republicans, no party affiliation independents, and members of minor parties — can participate in nonpartisan city, town and village elections.
Even though candidates don’t run with party labels, the Democratic and Republican party organizations in both Broward and Palm Beach counties have been active in municipal elections. They’ve been advising voters registered in their parties which candidates are Democrats and Republicans.
Mail ballot requests
Anyone who wants to receive a mail ballot for the upcoming election must have a request at the county supervisor of elections office by 5 p.m. March 7.
The deadline is strict; the vote-by-mail ballot request must be at the elections office by the deadline, and postmarks don’t count.
There is still time. Broward and Palm Beach County elections officials said the system will let people know if they’re trying to input an ID number that isn’t the one the offices have on file, so people can switch.
(It’s either a driver’s license, for most people, or the last four digits of their Social Security number.)
If someone sends a mail ballot request by mail, and it arrives after the deadline with the wrong identifying number, it can’t be processed, officials said.
Anyone who hasn’t submitted a mail ballot request since the 2022 midterm elections, even if they’ve voted by mail before, needs to get in a new request by the deadline.
All mail ballot requests made before the 2022 gubernatorial election were canceled.
Early voting
Early voting for the primary and local elections is about to begin.
It will be offered at 25 sites in Broward and 23 in Palm Beach County. People can use any location in the county in which they live.
Both counties run early voting from Saturday, March 9, through Sunday, March 17, the Sunday before Election Day. (Miami-Dade County began early voting on Monday, March 4.)
Hours in Broward are 10 a.m.-6 p.m. and hours in Palm Beach County are 7 a.m.-7 p.m.
Returning mail ballots
Mail ballots must be back at the county elections office by 7 p.m. on Election Night, March 19.
Postmarks don’t count.
Every election there are ballots that arrive late and can’t be counted under Florida law. In close elections there often have been enough uncounted ballots to potentially change the results.
Voters in both counties get postage-paid return envelopes.
Elections officials warned against waiting too long to return ballots and risking a Postal Service delay.
People can also return their mail ballots at early voting sites, during days and times early voting is operating. (Ballots dropped at early voting sites used to go into “drop boxes,” but state law changed the name to “secure ballot intake stations.”)
Completed ballots can also be dropped off at most, but not all, county elections offices.
There is a deadline exception. For elections involving federal offices, including the Republican presidential primary, an extra 10 days are allowed for military and overseas ballots to be returned and still get counted.
Election Day
Neighborhood polling places are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Election Day, March 19.
Anyone who is in line at 7 p.m. is allowed to vote.
People must vote in their assigned polling place on Election Day.
Information
Information and links to check your voting status, request vote-by-mail ballots, and find convenient early voting locations, are available online and by phone. The offices are open 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays.
Broward County: browardvotes.gov, 954-357-8683.
Palm Beach County: votepalmbeach.gov, 561-656-6200.