DORAL, Fla. – Election organizers in Miami-Dade and Broward counties are conducting final checks to ensure a smooth voting process for Tuesday’s Election Day.
Local 10′s Glenna Milberg visited Doral on Monday where she observed the extensive logistics involved in setting up more than 1,000 polling places across the two counties.
In South Florida, over half of registered voters have already participated in early voting, suggesting that lines at precincts may be manageable on Election Day.
6 p.m. report:
Precinct #24 will take over a Miami Beach school auditorium on Tuesday, with an election team member stating, “Our keys are in here. Our scanners, our cars are in the precinct.”
Some team members have been at the polling place for decades, long before early voting became more popular than in-person voting.
Michael Harris, a veteran election worker, explained, “We used to have maybe 1,000 voters on presidential elections, then it went down to 800 since early voting started, then 700, then 500, then 400.” Similar trends are seen in Broward County, where six out of ten voters have already cast their ballots.
“We’re just getting everything set up and making the final preparations to make sure that we’re prepared to open,” added another elections veteran.
Reflecting on the evolution of voting, one worker said, “I’ve been doing this since the hanging chads.” When asked if he misses them, he replied, “No, this is much, much better.”
The outdated chads and dots from punch card voting have been replaced by scannable paper ballots, which will be processed through thousands of machines, including those at the Coral Gables Library site.
Meanwhile, a group from a political club in Buenos Aires observed the vote-by-mail counting process. Liliana Paniagua Molina noted, “How the judges check the signatures, and it was very interesting.
It’s not so easy as we thought.” When asked if they found any mismatches, Liliana Paniagua Molina confirmed, “Yes, a lot.”
While these observations are anecdotal, officials emphasized that signature matching is a critical part of election security. If a signature does not match, there is a process in place to notify voters to correct any issues, ensuring that their votes can be counted.
Election security remains a top focus this season, with officials working diligently to ensure a transparent and secure voting process.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
How do I know if I am registered to vote?
Search this database online to look up voter information.
What is the deadline to return a vote-by-mail ballot?
7 p.m., Nov. 5
Who handles the process?
The Supervisor of Elections in the county of residence. Search this database to find the supervisor in your area.
Useful links
- Visit the Florida Division of Elections page
- For more information about federal election guidelines, visit this page.
- For more information about ballot intake stations, visit this page.