Monday deadline to register to vote

Here’s your chance to participate in democracy, but you’d better hurry: Florida residents have only until Monday to register if they want to vote in the Aug. 18 primary.

The primary in Central Florida features several congressional, legislative and local races to pick a new state attorney, circuit judges, county constitutional officers and county commissioners.

Think again if you’re inclined to skip it because you don’t want to register as a Democrat or Republican and you believe a primary is just for members of those two parties.

You can register with no party affiliation and still vote in nonpartisan elections.

In Orlando alone, NPA voters will have a say in races for circuit judge, county commission and the Orange County School Board.

The Orange County elections office plans to mail individualized sample ballots on July 28, according to its website.

To register, go to the website of the elections office in your county and sign up. There are options to do it entirely online, in person or by printing it out and mailing it in.

Here are the links to the election offices’ sites:

Orange: www.ocfelections.com/

Seminole: www.voteseminole.org/ #gsc.tab=0

Lake: www.lakevotes.com/

Osceola: www.voteo sceola.com/en-us

Voting in the primary has already started because of Florida’s option to mail in your ballot.

Officials expect a surge in voting by mail because of concerns over the coronavirus pandemic. The state no longer calls them absentee ballots because anyone can request them without giving a reason.

Early voting at select precincts will start 10-14 days before the election, depending on which county you live in.

If you miss the primary deadline, you’ve still got plenty of time to register for the Nov. 3 election, featuring the epic battle between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden. The final day to register to vote for Election Day is Oct. 5.