Live election updates: Polls close. What to know as South Florida primary results come in
If you wanted to vote in the primary, you’re out of luck. Polls closed at 7 p.m.
As last-minute voters leave their precincts, election workers are counting votes in the Miami-Dade elections office in Doral. The canvassing board convened — ballots in hand — to review ballot signatures and determine the validity of flagged vote-by-mail ballots.
Some cast their ballots for the first time. Others make it a tradition to vote at their precinct. But South Florida voters went to the polls with a variety of issues — and candidates — on their mind.
Here’s what to know as we await results.
READ MORE: Polls have closed in South Florida. See live primary election results here
South Florida, state voting trends
Half of the more than 287,000 Miami-Dade residents who voted cast their ballots by mail, according to a county tracker.
More than 50,000 Miami-Dade residents turned out for early voting, a figure topped by the more than 93,000 who went out to vote on Tuesday.
A majority of Miami-Dade voters — whether Democrat, Republican or not politically affiliated — voted by mail, as of Tuesday night.
Broward voting trends mirrored those of its southern neighbor. Half of the more than 260,000 residents who voted did so by mail, according to a county tracker. More than 21% of eligible voters cast a ballot as of Tuesday night.
Democrats, whose voters outnumbered their opposing party’s by more than 100,000, preferred to vote by mail. Republicans narrowly preferred voting on Election Day.
More than 2.23 million ballots had been cast by mail and in early voting in Florida as of Tuesday morning, according to News Service of Florida.
Florida’s Division of Elections reported Tuesday morning that about 1.62 million ballots had been cast by mail. Nearly 614,000 were cast in in-person early voting, which ended when sites closed Sunday. These figures have yet to be updated as of Tuesday night.
Registered Democrats cast 1.03 million of the ballots by mail and in early voting, while registered Republicans cast about 918,000, with the remainder cast by unaffiliated or third-party voters. Democrats led Republicans in voting by mail, while members of the GOP outnumbered Democrats in early voting.
Turnout worries Miami Gardens voters, but they look to future
At North Dade Regional Library in Miami Gardens, a polling site known for its liveliness on Election Day, the atmosphere was quite mellow late Tuesday afternoon.
One canvasser turned heads with his outlandish megaphone usage — foul language had somehow found its way into his approach — but absent were the food trucks and speakers that usually brought an element of excitement to Miami Gardens. Bernice Adams, 79, was kind of surprised.
“I don’t like what I’m seeing,” said Adams, who has lived in Miami Gardens for more than four decades. Adams believed the apathetic ambiance might have something to do with Tuesday being just a primary, but the three Miami Gardens city council races are winner take all if a candidate receives more than 50% of the vote.
More than 19% of eligible voters in Miami-Dade cast a ballot, according to a county tracker.
“A lot of people wait until November but they don’t realize how important this is.”
Yves Geneus thought the atmosphere was linked to the increased popularity of vote-by-mail. However, the 37-year-old prefers to come in person.
“I always come to make sure my vote counts,” Geneus said.
Still, the lack of external enthusiasm didn’t stop Rohan Pugh from enjoying himself.
Pugh’s mother Shkiear White, 42, said voting has become a family affair: she has brought the him to the polls since he was a baby. The 10-year-old even pleaded with White to wait until school ended so he could go with her.
“It’s important for him to know who’s who,” White explained, encouraging Pugh to go say hi to U.S. Congresswoman Frederica Wilson, who stood nearby talking to voters.
The Election Day tradition, White said, started with her parents, who brought her along with them when they voted. Bringing her son will allow him to see voting as “second nature.”
The very sight of White and Pugh made Miami-Dade County Commissioner Oliver Gilbert III reflect on his own upbringing.
Although he’s not on the ballot, Gilbert had come by to ensure everything ran smoothly. Like White, his parents made sure to bring him on Election Day.
“That’s how you actually make voting something kids actually want to do,” Gilbert said.
Issues draw Doral, Miami Beach voters to polls
As the temperature hovered at 90 degrees outside Fire Tower Miami in Doral, candidate supporters passed around water bottles and held signs.
They hoped to change the minds of the few voters scattered around the parking lot.
Armando Martir, 28, walked into the polling place sure of who — and what — drew him there. Education, safety and development are atop the Doral resident’s reasons for voting.
He said he wants children from Pre-K to high school to get a good education in math, literature and social studies. But something else led him to the ballot box: critical race theory.
“Teachers shouldn’t be teaching CRT,” he said. “That should be up for parents to teach at home.”
Martir, president of the 5252 Paseo condo association, said he’s also troubled by development standards in Doral.
Apartment complexes in Doral are being built with low standards, he said. Martir, who develops homes, said he has to go through intense inspections that some apartment developers do not. And that needs to change, he feels.
“There’s no referendum on development yet,” he said. “But there will probably have to be one in the next five years.”
With temperatures pushing 90 degrees in Miami Beach, poll worker Karl-Eugene Boehm Boehm holds an umbrella to shield the harsh sun as he ushers wary voters around fire trucks to cast their ballots.
At the Indian Creek Fire Station in Miami Beach, there’s been a steady flow of voters all day, Boehm said. Most voters are in and out within a few minutes.
“We have to all do our part,” said Boehm, who has been working the polls on election day since 2020. “I know that sounds corny, but it’s true.”
Father and son Xavier and Miguel Presley, 24, showed up together to the fire station, citing Miami Beach referendum #4 as a main issue that beach residents should care about. Referendum 4 would give owners of apartment hotels south of Fifth Street incentive to convert their buildings into full-time residential projects in exchange for the ability to develop their buildings.
Xavier, who has lived in Miami all of his life, is against apartments renting out units for short-term leases, and wants to do all he can to ensure local government is looking out for the interest of Miami Beach residents, not developers.
Both Miguel and Xavier are passionate about voting to make their voices heard.
“I feel like I have to at least try to make the change that I want to see,” Miguel said. Miguel is currently being evicted due to a rent increase issue and would like to see more on the ballot in the interest of renters.
“If we don’t stand up for democracy now, we really don’t have nothing,” Xavier said.
What were some of the races?
In South Florida, more than a dozen legislative districts had primary races. Florida’s closed primary system means that only Democrats vote in Democratic primaries, and Republicans in Republican primaries.
However, some legislative races were open to all voters and can be decided after early votes, absentee ballots and Election Day results are tabulated if all candidates were from one political party. Some neighborhoods also have non-partisan local contests and referendums on the ballots, too.
For instance, Broward voters chose if they wanted to increase their property taxes for the next four years to finance raises for teachers, hire more school security staff and bolster mental health programs in Broward public schools.
READ MORE: Candidates for the Aug. 23 primary elections in South Florida
READ MORE: What to know about South Florida’s state House and Senate races
READ MORE: What’s on the ballot in the Florida Keys?
C. Isaiah Smalls II and Lauren Costantino contributed to this report.
