Home  News Regional News Voters must register with a party
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Voters must register with a party |
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Friday, 25 July 2008 |
Primary elections will be held throughout South Florida on August 26 to choose candidates to run for office in various areas in the general elections on November 4. Primary elections will be held for representatives to the U.S. House of Representatives, the Florida Senate and House, state attorney, county and city commissions, circuit and county judges and the relevant school board in the South Florida school districts.
Traditionally, primary elections receive lukewarm attention in South Florida, with emphasis placed on general elections. However, voters stand the chance of not being able to vote for their favorite state, county or judicial candidate in the general elections should that candidate be not elected first in the primary elections. Moreover, many registered voters are unaware that if they are registered with No Party Affiliation (NPA) they will not be able to vote on August 26, or in many primaries.
Several voters were very disappointed last January when they tried to vote in the presidential primary and were turned back because they were not registered as either Democrat or Republican. While one does not need to have a party affiliation to vote in the general elections, one cannot vote in Florida primaries with NPA registration.
The main reason why party affiliations are required for most primaries is that Florida is a closed primary state, and in the state’s primaries, voters are issued ballots that are specific to their party affiliation. In the general election the voters are allowed to cross party lines.
People interested in voting in the August 26 primaries must be registered with a party by July 28. According to Florida Statutes 97.055, the Voter Registration books must be closed on the 29th day before each election.
Registered voters may also make address changes, name changes, or party affiliation changes by filling out another Voter Registration Application. These applications are available on-line, at Libraries, Driver License Offices, State Public Assistance Offices, Disability Offices, Armed Services Recruitment Offices, the relevant Supervisor of Elections offices and many Municipal City Halls.
All persons who are 18 years of age, a citizen of the United States, a legal resident of the State of Florida and a legal resident of Broward, Miami-Dade, or Palm Beach counties may also register to vote by July 28.
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