Monday is the registration deadline for Florida's Aug. 23 primaries
The end of the day Monday, July 25, is the deadline to register and/or change party affiliation for the Aug. 23 primary election. Register to vote through 5 p.m. Monday at the Supervisor of Elections Office in St. Augustine or through registertovoteflorida.gov or votesjc.gov.
Registration forms are available at any elections office, driver’s license office, tax office, public libraries, public assistance agencies or armed forces recruitment centers.
Voter registration closes 29 days before each election. The deadline to register to vote in the Nov. 8 general election is Oct. 11.
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There are some new requirements to register or update voter registration online. You will need:
Florida driver's license or Florida identification card issued by the Florida Department of Highway Safety & Motor Vehicles;
Issue date of your Florida driver's license or ID card;
Last four digits of your Social Security number.
Besides election day of Aug. 23, voters can also cast ballots through the mail or the six early voting sites. Vote-by-mail ballot requests must be received no later than 5 p.m. Aug. 13, which is the 10th day before the election.
Early voting is set for 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Aug. 13-20 at six sites throughout the county. The county’s early voting sites include:
Supervisor of Elections Office, 4455 Avenue A, Suite 101 in St. Augustine;
Julington Creek Annex at the St. Johns County Service Center, 725 Flora Branch Blvd. In St. Johns;
Ponte Vedra Branch Library, 101 Library Blvd. In Ponte Vedra Beach;
Southeast Branch Library, 6670 U.S. 1 S. in St. Augustine;
St. Augustine Beach City Hall, 2200 A1A S. in St. Augustine Beach;
Hastings Branch Library, 6195 S. Main St. In Hastings.
Some of the nonpartisan races – the races for District 4 School Board race and county judge – will be determined in the primary. According to Florida law, only registered members of a political party may vote for races for that political party.
There are many races on the primary ballot. Some of the local races include St. Augustine mayoral race, two St. Johns County Commission seats, school board members and county judge. Some state races are also up for election, including governor, attorney general, commissioner of agriculture, state senator for District 7 and state representative for District 20. Some federal seats on the ballot: U.S. senator and U.S. representative for District 5 and 6.
In a situation where only one party fields candidates for an office, state law calls for that party’s primary – normally limited only to party members – to be open to all voters, so all constituents have a right to vote for a representative. However, like in the case of the County Commission races, if an independent, third-party or write-in candidate joins the race, the party primary remains closed to non-Republican voters. This means that all Democrats and independents are locked out of voting.
St. Johns County voters
As of July 25
Democrat: 50,556
Republican: 115,448
Others: 53,422
Total: 219,426
— Record reporter Sheldon Gardner contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on St. Augustine Record: Florida primary election registration deadline is Monday
