Early voting ends this weekend. You can drop off mail-in ballots, too

Douglas Hanks
·2 min read

South Florida’s first election in the heart of the COVID-19 pandemic is almost over, with early voting ending this weekend ahead of Primary Day on Tuesday.

Early voting ends at 4 p.m. Sunday in Miami-Dade and at 5 p.m. in Broward. Monroe County wrapped up early voting Saturday at 5 p.m.

Election offices also offer drop-off boxes for mail-in ballots, a system designed to let voters drive by without having to go inside during the pandemic. Those boxes won’t be available once early voting ends, but county election offices will continue accepting mail-in ballots.

Because the ballots must be received by Tuesday, election supervisors recommend hand delivery of outstanding ballots at this point, or voting in person. Voters who received mail-in ballots but didn’t use them can still vote in person, and supervisors ask that they bring their ballots with them. That’s not mandatory, though.

While voters must go to their assigned precincts on Tuesday, early voting sites are open to all voters in the county. Broward’s early-voting sites are listed here. Miami-Dade’s here, and Monroe’s here. Early voting starts at 9 a.m. in Broward on Sunday, and at 8 a.m. in Miami-Dade.

The August primary includes partisan contests for state legislative posts and elections for a mix of partisan and non-partisan county offices, including sheriff in Broward and mayor in Miami-Dade.

Despite the pandemic, voter interest has been high in the days leading up to Primary Day.

Even with two days left of early voting, 2020 totals of mail-in and early ballots have already exceeded final totals from 2018 and 2020. That sets up the possibility of record turnout levels for the August primary, even if the contests will attract a fraction of voters who typically come out for the November election.

“The Primary Election’s early voting turnout is surprisingly high. It’s clear that voters are enthusiastic about this election,” Christina White, Miami-Dade’s elections supervisor, said in a statement. “My recommendation for those who haven’t yet voted is to go vote now.”