Far more Floridians voting via mail than in 2016

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Mail-in ballots in Florida’s primary had to be received by 7 p.m. Tuesday in order to be counted. For voters who obtained vote-by-mail ballots but ran out of time — or in some counties, stamps — to send them by mail, Florida’s secretary of state recommended hand-delivering them to secure drop boxes at each county’s elections offices.

As of Monday, more than 2.1 million people had cast mail-in ballots with more still coming in. That compares with fewer than 1.3 million in the 2016 primary.

Democrats now have the registration edge in Florida, but independents can, as usual, make all the difference. As of June 30, Florida had nearly

4.9 million active Republican voters and more than 5.1 million active Democratic voters.

The state has nearly 3.8 million voters who either are not registered with a party or are registered with a minor party. While they can’t vote in legislative or congressional primaries, they can vote in nonpartisan local races.

Florida will elect at least two new members of Congress this year, and the Republican primaries in two districts will likely decide who they will be.

Republican U.S. Reps. Ted Yoho and Francis Rooney are leaving office in heavily GOP districts. There are 10 Republican candidates seeking to replace Yoho in District 3, which stretches from Ocala to just south of Jacksonville.

Florida Secretary of State Laurel Lee said during a news conference Tuesday that election supervisors in all 67 counties had reported that polling stations were open and well-equipped. She also said she contacted the U.S. Postal Service to make sure ballots in the mail would be expedited.

“Supervisors have taken health precautions to keep others and election workers and safe and to mitigate the spread of COVID-19,” Lee said.