More than 1.9 million Floridians cast ballots ahead of Tuesday’s primary
ORLANDO, Fla. - More than 1.9 million Floridians cast ballots before Election Day, with Republicans holding an overall advantage in ballots submitted ahead of Tuesday’s primary.
The early turnout comes as voters prepare to decide races across the state, including a crowded Republican contest for governor.
What we know:
Nearly 1.1 million vote-by-mail ballots had been returned to county elections offices as of Monday morning, according to figures posted by the Florida Division of Elections. More than 818,000 additional voters cast ballots in person during early voting.
Registered Republicans accounted for 45.5% of ballots cast ahead of Election Day, compared with 42.1% from registered Democrats.
The parties differed significantly in how their voters cast ballots. Republicans recorded more than 448,000 in-person early votes, compared with just under 306,000 from Democrats. Democrats led in voting by mail, with about 501,000 ballots returned compared with 422,000 from Republicans.
Republicans enter the primary with an advantage of about 1.6 million registered voters statewide.
Big picture view:
Florida’s most prominent primary contest is the Republican race for governor, where 11 candidates are seeking the party’s nomination. The field includes U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, Lt. Gov. Jay Collins and former Florida House Speaker Paul Renner.
The advance-voting figures provide an early look at participation, but they represent only part of the electorate because voters can still cast ballots at polling places Tuesday.
The more than 1.9 million ballots cast before Election Day can be compared with recent Florida primaries, though the mix between mail, early and Election Day voting has shifted.
In the 2022 primary — the last election featuring statewide gubernatorial and Cabinet primaries — about 3.7 million votes were cast. Nearly 1.75 million were vote-by-mail ballots, while just over 613,000 were cast during early voting. Overall turnout was just under 26%.
More than 3 million votes were cast in Florida’s 2024 primary. About 1.4 million arrived by mail and roughly 656,500 were cast at early voting locations. Turnout was 22%.
What we don't know:
The advance totals do not show what the final turnout will be after Election Day voting is completed. They also cannot show which candidates are benefiting from the Republican or Democratic turnout because Florida does not publicly report how individual voters marked their ballots.
Election Day participation will determine whether total turnout approaches or surpasses the levels recorded in the past two statewide primaries.
The Source: This story was written based on reporting by the News Service of Florida and the Florida Division of Elections.