Florida early voting mostly smooth
One polling site closes after supervisor, employee test positive
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Floridians began early voting in much of the state Monday with no serious problems reported as the Trump campaign tries to cut into an early advantage Democrats have posted in mail-in votes in the key swing state.
The most populous counties reported wait times of 15 minutes or less at most of their voting sites Monday, although a few reported waits of up to 90 minutes. One Palm Beach County site reported a three-hour wait. One county had to close a voting site after the elections supervisor and an employee tested positive for the coronavirus and another county had its website go down. No other significant issues were reported by counties or voting rights groups.
In Miami, Reka Julien, a 40-year-old accountant, cast her vote for Democrat Joe Biden, saying she used to be a Republican but didn’t vote for President Donald Trump in 2016 and is angry over his handling of the coronavirus.
“We just need a change. This covid has got to go. Trump thinks this is a joke,” Julien said, adding that her two children have been deprived of schooling, social activities and travel. “These four years have just been tough.”
In Orlando, some voters cast their ballots at the arena used by the NBA’s Magic, where coach Steve Clifford assisted poll workers. The NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning’s arena and the NFL’s Tampa Buccaneers stadium are also being used as early voting sites.
“I felt like I was a player. I just had to make the right decisions,” said Anton Versch, 30, after he cast his ballot for Trump. Versch, who works in the pharmaceutical industry, said his main issue is “freedom,” particularly of speech and the right to bear arms.
“We should be able to do the most that we are allowed to do, as long as we aren’t infringing on anybody’s rights or liberties,” Versch said.
With 29 electoral votes, Florida is crucial to both candidates but especially Trump, who moved his official residence to his Palm Beach estate from New York last year. A Florida loss would make it nearly impossible for Trump to reach the 270 electoral votes needed to retain the White House.
No Republican has won the presidency without winning Florida since Calvin Coolidge in 1924.
The state typically has close elections, most notably in 2000 when Republican George W. Bush defeated Al Gore by 537 votes after a recount.
California’s Sen. Kamala Harris, the Democratic vice presidential candidate, visited Orlando and Jacksonville on Monday to encourage her party’s voters to cast early ballots. Trump will visit Florida on Friday after visiting last week.
Counties can offer up to two weeks of early voting and many do, including Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and other population centers. Large counties offer multiple sites and all counties allow those who have received mail-in ballots to drop them off. The latest a county can start early voting is Saturday. The final day is Nov. 1.
About 2.5 million mail-in ballots have already been cast, with Democrats returning 1.2 million and Republicans about 758,000 as of Monday. Unaffiliated voters and third-party members make up the rest.
The number of mail-in votes is approaching the 2.7 million cast in 2016 when Republicans had a 70,000-vote margin on returns. Trump defeated Hillary Clinton in the state by about 113,000 votes.
Florida Republicans say they aren’t worried about the mailin gap, believing any advantage Biden gets will be swamped by Trump supporters casting in-person ballots starting this week and on Election Day. They point to their increased voter registration, which narrowed the Democrats’ lead to 134,000, down from 327,000 four years ago
Political strategist Steve Schale, who runs the pro-Biden super PAC “Unite The Country,” said Monday that Democrats shouldn’t get comfortable.
“Republicans are going to get their vote out,” he said.