Primary Election 101: Absentee Ballots To Election Day

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- We'll find out who will be the next president of the United States in November but before then, we have primary elections for other public positions.

Primary election day is on August 30th. The day is fast approaching but before casting your vote, there are some things you have to do.

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.

The deadline to register to vote was August 1st. If you did not register before then, you cannot vote in this primary.

For those who are registered, you have options in how you cast your ballot. You can vote by mail, vote early or vote on election day.

For those who want to vote using an absentee ballot, you have until August 24th at 5 p.m. to request a Vote-by-Mail Ballot.

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

Those who would like to vote early in Miami-Dade County can do so, starting August 15th through August 28th. In Broward, early voting runs from August 20th to August 28th.  In Monroe County, early voting starts August 15th and ends August 28th.

Click here for early voting locations in Miami-Dade County or here for those in Broward or here for sites in Monroe County.

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.

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.