Presidential Primary 101: Absentee Ballots To Election Day

Follow CBSMIAMI.COM: Facebook | Twitter 

MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- With Primary season in full swing, Floridians planning to cast their vote should be aware of some key facts.

First to the preps. In order to vote, you should make sure you are registered to participate for the March 15th presidential primary.

The deadline to register for the Florida primary is February 16th.

Florida is a closed Primary state. This means you must be a registered Republican or Democrat in order to vote. You can also be registered in one of the cities holding elections on that date.

Keep in mind, you can only vote for the candidates in the party you are registered for.

To check your party affiliation, click here for Miami-Dade County,  here for Broward County or here for Monroe County.

Once you have completed the form, you'll be able to find out where to vote on election day, review sample ballots and view dates for upcoming elections.

If you're not registered to vote, fill out a form here for Miami-Dade, here for those in Broward or here for those in Monroe.

If you're registered and want to vote from the comfort of your own home, you need to request a ballot so it can be at your home by 5:00 p.m. on March 9th.

To request an absentee ballot in Miami-Dade click here or here for Broward or here for Monroe.

Those wanting to get it done and take part in early voting in Miami-Dade County can do so from Monday, February 29th to Sunday, March 13th. Click here for early voting locations.

In Broward County, early voting is set for March 5th to March 13th  from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.  Click here to find early voting locations.

In Monroe County, early voting runs from February 29th to March 12th from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Click here to find early voting locations.

For those who want to save their voting for Election Day, make sure you know where you need to go to vote before you head to the polls on March 15th.

In Miami-Dade, Broward and Monroe County the polls will remain open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

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-Dade, Broward, Monroe. For statewide voting information, click here.