Monday is the last day for residents to register to vote in Florida’s August primary election.
The August 26th primary may be a few weeks away, but Duval County elections supervisor and Florida State Association of Supervisor of Elections President Jerry Holland says it’s important residents start preparing now.
“Well, first of all, to understand that Florida, for most races, in the partisan primaries are closed primaries. Occasionally, we’ll have an open primary, but for a lot of people coming from other states this is different for them. For people from Georgia, Mississippi, Texas, they’re allowed to go into the polling location and ask for whatever ballot they want to. That is not the case in the state of Florida,” said Holland.
That’s why he says it’s especially important residents are also aware Monday is the voter registration deadline for the August 26th primary.
“We really let people know that the [July] 28th is not just the last day you can register, but also the last day you can change your party, in case there are races that you go, you know, ‘I really want to vote for so-and-so. They’re not in my party, but how do I vote for them?’ Well, by changing your party prior to Monday or on Monday is when you can make that change,” added Holland.
The primary will decide things, like who will be the Democratic gubernatorial candidate between former Senate Democratic Leader Nan Rich and former Governor, Republican-turned-Democrat Charlie Crist—even incumbent Governor Rick Scott has some competition on the ballot.
It will also decide the Democratic hopeful who will face off against Attorney General Pam Bondi in the November general election.
For more news updates, follow Sascha Cordner on Twitter: @SaschaCordner.
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