Deadline nears for registering to vote for Florida's March 19 presidential primary

Dave Berman, Florida Today
·3 min read
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Tuesday is the deadline to register to vote for Florida's March 19 presidential preference primary.

Only registered Republican voters can vote in the primary, because there will be no Democratic presidential primary in Florida this year.

Here is information voters need to know, from Brevard County Supervisor of Elections Tim Bobanic and others:

Who is on the ballot?

There are seven Republican candidates on the presidential primary ballot, including four who are no longer actively running.

The active candidates on the ballot are former President Donald Trump; former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley. who also was a former ambassador to the United Nations; and Ryan Binkley, a business executive and pastor from Texas.

Also on the ballot are four former candidates no longer actively campaigning — former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.

Why are former candidates still on the ballot?

Brevard County Supervisor of Elections Tim Bobanic stands in front of pallets of vote-by-mail ballots before they were mailed out to voters in advance of the March 19 Republican presidential preference primary.
Brevard County Supervisor of Elections Tim Bobanic stands in front of pallets of vote-by-mail ballots before they were mailed out to voters in advance of the March 19 Republican presidential preference primary.

More to know about primary process: Who can — and can't — vote in Florida's presidential preference primary?

If a candidate did not submit a formal withdrawal by Dec. 12, under Florida Statute, the candidate’s name must remain on the ballot.

Why is there no Democratic primary?

Because the Florida Democratic Party provided only one candidate nominee, President Joe Biden.

Brevard Democratic Executive Committee Chair Pamela Castellana said no other names were brought forward during a meeting of Democratic Party officials to select candidates for the ballot.

There were several other Democrats actively campaigning against Biden at the time. Among the Democrats still campaigning are U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota and political commentator Cenk Uygur.

Can non Republicans vote in the primary?

No. Florida is what's known as a "closed-primary state." So only registered Republicans can vote in the Republican primary.

As of Friday, there were 190,349 registered Republicans in Brevard County, representing 44.9% of registered votes. Among other registered voters, 26.9% are Democrats, 25.2% have no party affiliation, and 3.0% are members of one of Florida's 12 minor political parties.

Brevard Republican Executive Committee Chair Rick Lacey says his party has been trying to get more non-Republicans to switch to the GOP.

How can I register to vote or change my party affiliation to vote in the primary?

Voters can visit any of the four Brevard County Supervisor of Elections administrative offices or go to VoteBrevard.gov to register to vote or update their voter registration.

These are the office locations:

  • Melbourne: 1515 Sarno Road, Building A.

  • Palm Bay: 450 Cogan Drive SE.

  • Titusville: 400 South St., Suite 1F.

  • Viera: 2725 Judge Fran Jamieson Way, Building C, Suite 105.

What if I want to request a vote-by-mail ballot?

Voters not already on the mail ballot request list have until 5 p.m. March 7 to request a mail ballot be sent to them prior to the March 19 election.

Current requests are valid for one general election cycle and, if requested now, are good through Dec. 31.

Requests can be made at VoteBrevard.gov, by calling 321-290-VOTE (8683), or at any of the four administrative offices.

Can you drop off a filled-out mail ballot?

Secure ballot intake stations are available in the lobby of all four administrative offices of Brevard County Supervisor of Elections for voters wishing to return their voted mail ballots.

What's the deadline for mail ballots?

Mail ballots must be received in the supervisor of elections offices by 7 p.m. on election day.

What else should voters know?

Bobanic said, if voters have concerns, they should verify information they’ve seen or heard by going to VoteBrevard.gov or by calling 321-290-VOTE (8683).

Dave Berman is business editor at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Berman at dberman@floridatoday.com, on X at @bydaveberman and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/dave.berman.54

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: If you want to vote in presidential primary, be registered by Tuesday