AVENTURA, Fla. – Early voting for the primary election in Miami-Dade County began Monday at 23 different sites.
Frederick Fisher was one of the very first people to cast his ballot at the North Dade Regional Library in Miami Gardens. He chose to come out early to avoid any lines.
“Very easy, yes,” he told Local 10 News. “I don’t want to be in the crowd, one thing; and the second thing, the earlier I come the less people be here.”
Before casting a ballot, the Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections Office recommends voters review a sample ballot online. They can also check wait times at several polling sites.
Voters also need their ID and voter information card.
Milton Hadley shared a similar sentiment, after walking through a crowd of campaign workers looking to sway any undecided voters.
“It’s fun, really, you know?” Hadley said. “I already did the studying my votes and all that stuff, so to engage with them is kind of fun.”
While campaign ads have been in heavy rotation online and over the airwaves, election workers in Miami-Dade have been busy preparing for a problem-free process.
“We do take great pains when it comes to making sure that we have the latest technology to make sure from a cybersecurity perspective, from a physical security perspective, that there will be no fraud,” Miami-Dade Deputy Supervisor of Elections Suzy Trutie said.
Several key races are on the ballot, including former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, now a Democrat, running to unseat current Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Nikki Fried, Florida’s Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services, is also in on the fight.
At least four of South Florida’s Congressional representatives are trying to keep their seats in Congress.
Some district lines have been redrawn.
In Broward County, early voting won’t open until Saturday, but the race for a highly contested Congressional seat that represents Broward and part of Palm Beach County is already heating up.
Current Congresswoman Sheila Cherfilus McCormick and former Broward County Mayor Dale Holness were part of a tense discussion Sunday morning on This Week in South Florida.
Cherfilus-McCormick won the seat by just five votes to replace the late Alcee Hastings.
“My opponent has been leading this misinformation campaign, this honesty campaign, and it really shows his inexperience in understanding federal legislation,” she said, referring to Holness.
“What is clear is that Sheila, she lies,” Holness said.
ADDITIONAL INFO
Early voting schedule, locations in South Florida for Primary Election