What Voters Need to Know for Florida’s Aug. 23 Election

Florida’s 14.3 million registered voters are eligible to vote in this month’s election, but some may not know where and when to vote because of recent election law changes and the 2021 redistricting process. 

As early voting begins statewide this Saturday, Aug. 13, Common Cause Florida urges voters to spend time now to make a plan of how they will vote. 

This year’s Aug. 23 election includes non-partisan school board, judicial and local races as well as primary elections to select party slates of state and federal candidates for the November general election. All registered voters can cast votes in the non-partisan races, while only those registered with political parties can vote in Florida’s closed party primaries.  (You can look up your ballot and voter precinct information here.) 

Common Cause Florida Program Director Amy Keith has been training election protection volunteers around the state to ensure every eligible Floridian can vote without issue. 

“Every election is important, and this coming primary election is a chance for the nearly 14.3 million registered voters in Florida to shape the future of our state,” Keith said. “Please make a plan now for how you’ll vote and share credible, accurate information about how to vote with your loved ones, neighbors and community members.”

 

Voter Information for the 2022 Primary Election

 

There are three different ways that registered Florida voters can vote: by mail, in-person at early voting sites in their county, or in-person at their assigned polling location on Aug. 23, Election Day. 

Voters who have any questions about the voting process or encounter problems can contact the nonpartisan Election Protection hotline at 866-OUR-VOTE. 

Those who choose to vote by mail must:

• Request a vote-by-mail ballot  through their county Supervisor of Elections office.
• Sign the back of the ballot envelope.
• Make sure the ballot is received by their county election office by 7 p.m., Tuesday Aug. 23. (postmark date is not enough)

If there is a problem with the voter’s signature on their vote-by-mail ballot, the voter has until 5 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 25 to submit the paperwork to correct their signature. 

Note: Common Cause Florida recommends mailing in ballots at least 10 days in advance or dropping off signed ballots in Secure Ballot Intake Stations available at county elections offices and early voting sites during hours of operation. Voters can check to see if their ballots were received in the mail through online trackers provided by most county supervisor of elections’ offices.  

People can also vote early in-person at county early voting sites.

• Statewide early voting is between Saturday, Aug. 13 and Saturday, August 20, though some counties have early voting beginning August 8 and running through August 21. Voters can look up early voting locations, dates and times through their county elections office here.
• Voters can use any early voting site in their county to vote in-person or drop mail-in ballots in Secure Ballot Intake Stations.
• You must provide a valid photo/signature ID to vote in-person in Florida during early voting or on election day. There are 12 acceptable forms of ID, with the list available here.

Those who want to vote in-person on Tuesday, Aug. 23, Election Day must:

• Bring valid (non-expired) photo/signature ID.
• Vote at the correct precinct for their current residence. Voters can look up their precincts here.
• Arrive at the polls during voting hours. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• Any voter in line to vote at 7 p.m. must be allowed to vote.