Florida is holding its midterm elections Tuesday, Nov. 3. According to the state Division of Elections, 5.4 million of the state’s 13.7 million voters had cast ballots as of Monday, or nearly 40%.
Polling places are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. In the western Panhandle counties, which are in the Central time zone, polls close at 7 p.m. local time, or 8 p.m. Eastern. The state Division of Elections will begin publishing results after 8 p.m. County election offices are expected to report totals for early and mail-in votes about 30 minutes after polls close.
Anyone voting on Election Day must go to their assigned polling place. Voters should not assume it is the same location where early voting took place. The registration deadline passed in October, and Florida does not allow same-day registration. CBS Miami advises checking your polling place, registration status and ID requirements before leaving home.
Voters will decide on three amendments to the state constitution that the Legislature placed on the ballot. The ballot also includes three state Cabinet positions. One of the amendments, Amendment 3, concerns property tax. It would ultimately provide a $250,000 exemption for homeowners who qualify for the homestead exemption. The Florida Phoenix also lists races for governor, the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives. According to an aggregate of 30 polls in the Senate race, Moody leads Nixon by an average of 52% to 46%.
Democrats performed strongly in early voting. Voters with no party affiliation or affiliated with minor parties cast 22% of all ballots. As of Monday, 38.2% of registered Republicans and 49% of registered Democrats had voted. The number of votes cast so far equals 69% of turnout in the 2022 midterm elections and 62% of turnout in 2018.
In recent election cycles, Republicans have dominated on Election Day and are hoping for a repeat. Democratic strategist Steve Schale wrote that in 2022 they won the Election Day vote by 600,000 ballots. Final turnout and results remain unknown.
Source: Florida Phoenix, Tampa Bay Times
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Source: Słoneczne Radio
