ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Florida primary election is Tuesday, Aug. 23. And if you just realized you're still hanging on to your vote-by-mail ballot, don't panic.
Here's how to make sure your vote is counted.
Don't slap a stamp on your envelope and head to the post office — it's too late for that. Vote-by-mail ballots have to be received by 7 p.m. on election day, so you would've had to mail it out a week ago.
You can, however, fill out your ballot (don't forget to sign the envelope!) and drop it off at your county's Supervisor of Elections office. Be sure to check the hours, too.
If you aren't able to drop off your vote-by-mail ballot by Monday, you can still vote in person on election day. Grab your entire vote-by-mail kit and head to your local polling place. There, a poll worker will mark your mail-in ballot “canceled,” and you’ll be allowed to vote a regular ballot.
If you don't bring your vote-by-mail kit with you, the in-person voting process becomes a little trickier, but not impossible. A poll worker can confirm that your ballot was not received before issuing a regular ballot to you. If the staff cannot confirm that your ballot has not been received, you can vote a provisional ballot — the canvassing board will later determine its validity.
You can find your polling place here:
The primary election is held to nominate party candidates to be voted for in the general election (on Nov. 8) to fill a national, state, county or district office. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders.
The offices that will be voted on to nominate candidates are:
- State executive offices (governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, chief financial officer and agriculture commissioner)
- United States senators
- United States representatives
- State legislators
- Local offices (varies by municipality)