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Counting, Preps Underway Ahead Of Florida's Primary

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- Early voting and absentee ballots are being counted ahead of the primary election day Tuesday.

Miami-Dade County saw a record number of early voters this year with 83,561 who voted early and 114,532 absentee ballots that came in as of March 12th.

In Broward, more than 157,000 people already voted early or by absentee ballot. Across Florida, out of 12 million registered voters, more than two million have already voted.

CBS4's Gaby Fleischman spoke to voters who decided to get their ballots in early, saying they wanted to beat the election day rush.

"Because I work on Tuesday and I might have a hard time getting here after work so I wanted to make sure that I voted," said voter Gina Diaz.

"I think these elections are very important for the future of the United States," voter Jeffrey Triana. "And I think it's one of the most important elections in the last 20 years."

Despite high numbers, Miami-Dade poll workers are still expecting a high turnout  on Tuesday.

"We're looking to be on par with the 2008 voter turnout or a little higher,"  said Miami-Dade County's Supervisor of Elections Christina White.

Meantime, Miami-Dade County polls are closed Monday as workers get ready for Tuesday.

"We are ready. Our poll workers have been trained,our equipment tested. Our deliveries are complete. We're setting up our polling places today to make sure that were are ready at 7 a.m. tomorrow for our voters," said White.

As for those who are heading to the polls tomorrow, White had some advice for them.

"This is a closed primary state so you must be a registered Democrat or a Republican to vote for your presidential nominee," said White. "Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and also make sure to know where your most current voting location is because some precincts have changed so you'll want to look at your voter information card, call our office or go on our website to make sure you know where your new precinct is."

Now, some things have changed since the last Primary election day. A new electronic check in system is meant to speed things up.

"We have a new electronic check-in system. It'll be a big difference for our voters since 2012. You come in with your driver's license or Florida ID. We swipe it for you and we'll be able to move you through the line much quicker than in the past," said White.

Florida is a closed primary state so you do have to be a registered Democratic or Republican to vote in the primary. If you are not registered in either party, you will be turned away.

To vote, you'll need to bring a valid ID that has your name, photograph and signature.

You can bring the following IDs:

  • Florida Driver's License
  • Florida identification card issued by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles
  • United States Passport
  • Debit or credit card
  • Military identification
  • Student identification
  • Retirement center identification
  • Public assistance identification
  • Neighborhood Association identification

If you do not have a valid ID, you may be asked to vote using a provisional ballot. Once that happens you'll have to present written evidence showing your eligible to vote  to the Supervisor of Elections office. This has to be done no later than 5 p.m. on the second day after the election.

Click on the corresponding links for more information on each county: Miami-DadeBrowardMonroe. For statewide voting information, click here.

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