MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – Early voters have come out in record numbers this year across South Florida, with numbers doubling for early voting in both Miami-Dade and Broward counties.
According to new numbers released from local elections officials, Miami-Dade County set a new early voting record for a midterm election with more than 300,000 early voting ballots cast over the last two weeks.
That's compared to 2014 when 116,000 people voted early, which is a 158 percent jump from just four years ago.
Among those votes -- nearly half were cast by registered Democrats, with the rest split pretty evenly between Republicans and those with no party affiliation.
That's not a huge surprise for Miami-Dade, where registered Democrats far outnumber Republicans.
The numbers in Broward County were just as impressive, with 299,000 early ballots cast, which is a 130 percent jump from 2014.
"Please, get involved. Let your voice be heard. Don't sit on the sidelines," Broward County Supervisor of Elections Dr. Brenda Snipes said. "There's a lesson to be learned here that it's candidates and it's issues that drive people to the polls, and they're excited. They want to be involved."
Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections Christina White confirmed Monday that 3,057 mail-in ballots may be defective because there were no signatures on the envelopes or the signatures on the envelopes did not match the ones they have on file.
White said anyone affected should have received a letter in the mail to notify them about the issue.
Each affected voter has until 5 p.m. Monday to submit a "cure" affidavit.
Snipes confirmed that some mail-in ballots in Broward County also had signature issues, but said that anyone affected should have already been contacted by now.
Polls open Tuesday at 7 a.m.
Voters are reminded to look up your precinct online or call the Supervisor of Elections Office early in the morning.
Bring a voter ID with you, your driver's license or other forms of identification that have a picture and a signature.
Voters may also bring in a cheat sheet, but just don't forget to take it with you once you're done.