So Far, So Good At The Polls But 'Don't Wait Until Last Minute' Cautions Elections Supervisor
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Polls opened at 7:00 a.m. across South Florida and so far, so good. Keep those fingers crossed. There have been no reported problems at any polling locations in Miami-Dade or Broward counties.
Election supervisors in both counties say voting is running very efficiently this Election Day, compared with problems in years past.
"Today is Election Day in the state of Florida, so if you have not yet voted, today is your last day. I'm encouraging our voters to come out," said Miami-Dade Election Supervisor Christina White. "We opened all 866 of our precincts this morning at 7:00 a.m. So we're welcoming voters and we had a very smooth start, and I am sure that will continue throughout the rest of the day. We served over 500,000 people during early voting and we had very modest lines."
RELATED: CBSMIAMI.COM DIGITAL VOTERS GUIDE
White cautions, however, try not to wait until the last minute if you can avoid it.
"Now polls close at 7:00 p.m. so don't wait to the last minute. The sooner you get there, the better off you're going to be. Make sure you bring a valid photo ID with you and also check out your customized sample ballot."
MORE FROM CBSMIAMI.COM
'We Love What They Did': Sen. Marco Rubio Supports Pro-Trump Caravan That Swarmed Biden Bus
Fort Lauderdale Police Find Missing Brothers Alando Brown & Tavaris Johnson
DEA Documents Reveal Elaborate Undercover Drug Sting That Nabbed Two Police Officers Accused Of Protecting Cocaine Transport
In Broward County, an electronic board showed that all 577 precincts opened early.
"For the first time in probably 25 years, every Broward County precinct was open at 6:59 am this morning during a presidential election. And I very much appreciate all the good work our poll workers have done to make that happen," said Broward Election Supervisor Peter Antonacci.
"At 7 o'clock, with 80% of our ballots being reported, that will give you a pretty good idea of everything but the closest elections. Everybody who hasn't voted should vote. We've had about 840,000 Broward County voters have cast their ballot and a few more will cast today. That's always a kind of a nerve wracking day. You're kind of waiting for things to go wrong and not satisfied when things go right."
Here are a couple of other reminders if you still have your vote-by-mail ballot.
Remember you must drop it off or bring it to your precinct and ask a poll worker to "spoil" or discard the ballot and then you can vote in person.
If you want to drop it off, there are four locations in Miami-Dade and two in Broward.
The locations in Miami-Dade where you can drop off your mail-in ballot are:
- Elections Department Main Office, 2700 NW 87th Ave.
- Stephen P. Clark Center, 111 NW First St. in the lobby area
- North Dade Regional Library, 2455 NW 183rd St.
- South Dade Regional Library, 10750 SW 211th St.
In Broward the locations are:
- Rear entrance of Lauderhill Mall Voting Equipment Center, 1501 NW 40th Ave.
- Brickell Avenue entrance to the Supervisor of Elections Office at 115 S. Andrews Ave.
You have to vote at your assigned precinct and remember that COVID-19 precautions are in place so you will have to wear a mask. If you don't have one, one will be provided for you.
