The election season is upon us; are you registered to vote? Primary Elections are coming up August 20.
Political Party Affiliation
When completing the Florida Voter Registration Application Form, one of the fields is Party Affiliation. In this field, you have several options. You can choose from one of the major political parties (Florida Democratic Party or Republican Party of Florida), one of the minor political parties, you can select no party affiliation (NPA), or you can leave the field blank. If you leave this field blank on the application form, our office will register you with no party affiliation (NPA) by default.
Registration & Party Change Deadline
You can update your voter registration record at any time. However, the registration deadline for new registrations in Florida and party changes is typically 29 days before an election. Any new registrations or party changes received during the registration book closing period will not take effect until after the election.
Primary Elections
Florida is a closed primary state, which means that in most cases only voters who are affiliated with or registered members of political parties may vote for their respective party’s candidates for an office in a Primary Election
(For example: only registered Republicans can vote in a Republican Primary contest and only Democrats can vote in a Democratic Primary contest.)
However, there are times when all registered voters can vote in a Primary Election contest, regardless of party affiliation:
If all the candidates for an office have the same party affiliation and there is no opposition in the general election (no write-in or no party affiliation candidates have qualified), then all registered voters can vote for any of the candidates for that office in the primary election, and the winner is decided in the primary election. This is called a Universal Primary Contest.
If contests for nonpartisan offices (such as judicial and school board seats), nonpartisan special districts, or ballot issue questions (amendments/referendums) are on the primary election ballot, then all registered voters are entitled to vote in those races on the ballot.
There are certain contests that will be decided in the primary election and will never make it to the general election ballot. Therefore, missing a primary election could mean missing out on voting in some contests altogether.
General Elections
At a General Election, all registered voters within the same precinct area receive the same ballot with the same contests and may vote for any candidate or question on the ballot. Winners from the closed primary contests will move on and will be on the general election ballot. In addition, minor party candidates, candidates with no party affiliation, and qualified write-in candidates will proceed to the general election. In a general election, a write-in line will be on the ballot ONLY if there is a qualified write-in candidate for a contest. Write-in candidate names do NOT appear on the ballot. Only votes for qualified write-in candidates are valid.
Let your voice be heard; The deadline to register or change party affiliation for the 2024 Primary Election was July 22, 2024. The deadline to register for the 2024 General Election is October 7, 2024.
To register to vote or for more information, visit www.voteokaloosa.gov.
