Party Primaries

Florida is a closed primary election state, meaning that a voter must select a party in order to vote in that party’s primary elections. If the voter does not select a party when they register to vote, they will be listed as a No Party Affiliate (NPA), and they will not be allowed to vote in any party primaries. To be able to vote in an August 20th party primary election, a voter must register with a party by end of day on July 22nd. This is also the last day for a new voter to register to vote.

Universal Primaries

However, there are times when all registered voters can vote in a primary election, regardless of which major or minor political party they are registered as or even if they are registered as NPA. If all the candidates for an office have the same party affiliation and the winner of the primary election will not face any opposition in the general election (i.e. no write-in candidates have qualified), then all registered voters can vote for any of the candidates for that office in the primary election. This is often referred to as a universal primary. 


Broward County has five universal primaries for the August 20 election. The candidate with the most votes for each race is the winner and is elected to that office on August 20. The elected offices with universal primaries are:

-- Florida House Districts 98 (parts of Deerfield Beach, Pompano Beach and Oakland Park west of US 1)
-- Florida House Districts 99 (Wilton Manors, areas in western Fort Lauderdale through eastern Plantation)
-- Clerk of Circuit Court
-- Tax Collector (a new position)
-- Supervisor of Elections

Nonpartisan Races

Also on the ballot for the August 20 election are nonpartisan races, meaning the candidates have no party affiliation listed after their name. All registered voters can vote in these elections, which include:
-- Circuit Court Judge
-- County Court Judge
-- School Board. 

For the nonpartisan races, a candidate must have 50% plus one of the votes cast to win that race. If there are only two candidates for a race, the winner will be decided on August 20. If there are three or more candidates for a race, it is quite possible that no single candidate will win 50% plus one of the votes cast, and the top two candidates will face each other in the November 5 General Election.

How to choose candidates for the Aug. 20 election

Candidate forums organized by the League of Women Voters let you directly see and hear the people asking for your vote. 

These virtual forums are livestreamed on our Facebook page and then available afterwards on the League's YouTube page so you can watch them later. Here's the schedule: 

• Monday, July 29, Broward County Sheriff
  
• Wednesday, July 31, Supervisor of Elections, County Tax Collector and County Clerk of the Circuit Court

You can request a Vote-By-Mail ballot until Aug. 10 at  https://www.browardvotes.gov

You can sign up to track your Vote-By-Mail ballot at the same place.

Do you care about Broward schools? Know the issues on the ballot

Speaker's Bureau ready for election

The Broward League is ready to schedule Decision 2024 talks via its speaker's bureau. Contact: speakers@lwvbroward.org or call 954-546-4484 and leave a message.

One of the most important ways the Broward League serves the community is through the dozens of talks it provides to churches, clubs, homeowner's associations and other organizations during every election. 

The non-partisan FREE presentations explain the important Aug. 20 election, in which critical local candidates are elected, as well as the Nov. 5 election and voting process. 

In November, there will be a series of constitutional amendments, which the presentation will explain without recommending or opposing any of them. These explanations describe what the amendment would and would not do and which groups support and which oppose the amendment. From this information, voters can decide their own view. 

Now is the time to schedule these talks. 

The League is also seeking additional members who want to be trained to make these presentations. Training will be held via Zoom at 5 p.m. Thursday, July 18.  Register here.  Contact the Speaker's Bureau at speakers@lwvbroward.org for more information.

• You will need your current Florida driver license or Florida identification number or the last four digits of your social security number.
• You will need to provide an email address.
• On the screen that asks for your address, note it is asking for the house or building number for your residence and NOT the street number. For example, if your address is 17034 SW 209th Court, input “17034” and not “209.”
  
• If you will be living outside of Broward County temporarily for a specific election, you can request to have the ballot for just that election be sent to your temporary address. 
  
• Don’t want to do it online? Just call the Broward SOE office at (954) 357-7055.