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Record voter turnout expected in Florida, but outcome still too narrow to predict

By Evan Axelbank
Updated  October 26, 2020 10:25pm EDT
2020 Election
FOX 13 News

Vote narrows as voter turnout surges

Evan Axelbank reports

TAMPA, Fla. - Florida is flirting with the modern-day record of voter turnout, with over six million votes already in.

The state has 14 million voters, which means Florida's turnout is over 41%. In 1992's three-way election between Bill Clinton, George HW Bush and Ross Perot, 83% of Florida voters cast ballots.

FOX 13 political editor Craig Patrick predicts similarly-high turnout.

"Republicans feel very passionately about President Trump," he said. "Same goes for Democrats now united behind Joe Biden."

But it's hard to tell who's winning. Right now, 2.55 million Florida Democrats have cast ballots, as opposed to 2.2 million Republicans.

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That gap has narrowed each day as Republicans may be more likely to vote in person. They're counting on a big Election Day turnout.

They believe there are 1.25 million dependable Republican voters left, compared to 850,000 Democratic ones.

Florida voters receive threatening emails

Some Democrats across Florida have received threatening emails to 'vote for trump or else.' The emails are clearly an attempt to harass voters and meddle in the election. And election managers are urging voters to disregard it as they look for the culprits.

"It really depends on how many voters who do not regularly vote, turn out," said Patrick.

It will also depend on which way non-party-affiliated voters go, and whether Democrats convince those who stayed home in 2016 to vote this time.

In Hillsborough County, almost two-thirds of mail ballots have already been returned. But the Hillsborough County elections supervisor, Craig Latimer warns this isn't an election ripe for projections.

"It is a little difficult to really say what is the turnout going to be," said Latimer. "We are having a good turnout, we do know that, there is no doubt about it."

Monday was the last day mail ballots were sent to voters who requested them in Hillsborough County.

But if you still haven't brought yours in, you are being asked to drop them off at an early voting site to make sure they make it before Nov. 3 at 7 p.m.