Live: Republicans go to the polls today in Presidential Preference Primary

Corey Arwood, Keith Burbank, Will Greenlee, Melissa E. Holsman, Gianna Montesano, Nick Slater and Colleen Wixon, Treasure Coast Newspapers

Voters across the Treasure Coast are going to the polls today for the Presidential Preference Primary. Voting locations are open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

While election workers will be at work all day — staffing voting locations in Indian River, St. Lucie and Martin counties — the job of voters should go relatively quickly. In St. Lucie and Indian River counties and most of Martin County, the only election on the ballot is for the Republican nomination for president.

In Sewall's Point in Martin County, two candidates — Vinny Barile and Diane Kimes — are running to fill the unexpired Town Commission term of James Campo, who resigned at the end of 2023.

Florida 2024 election guide: Local voter information

All voters will see seven Republicans running for president, although all but Donald Trump already have suspended their campaigns.

Only registered Republicans will vote in Tuesday's primary. The Florida Democratic Party nominated Joe Biden as its only candidate and chose him for the Nov. 5 General Election, so there will be no Democratic presidential preference primary.

There are 203,174 registered Republicans on the Treasure Coast, according to Martin, St. Lucie and Indian River county supervisors of elections offices.

11 a.m.: Voting slow in Martin County

Voting in Martin County has been lighter than usual with only 1,077 votes cast by around 10:45 a.m., according to the Supervisor of Elections Office.

“We’re receiving feedback from voters that the election has already been decided,” Supervisor of Elections Vicki Davis said.

8:30 a.m.: Small turnout predicted

All three Treasure Coast supervisors of elections — Vicki Davis, Leslie Swan and Gertrude Walker — are predicting small voter turnout today.

"Now that President Biden and Donald Trump have secured the delegates for the nomination for their party, it seems like it's a little anticlimactic," said Swan, Indian River County elections supervisor.

Davis and Walker echoed Swan's sentiment.

Davis, who oversees elections in Martin County, noticed a drop in voter participation after Nikki Haley dropped out of the Republican race on March 6.

"It's a very quiet election," Davis said.

Here are the election supervisors' turnout predictions for today's election:

  • Indian River: 20%-25%

  • St. Lucie: 16%-20%

  • Martin: 16%-18%

St. Lucie County Elections Supervisor Walker said her predictions mirror the 2004 Presidential Preference Primary, which had only a Democratic primary. Then, turnout was 15.8%.

The last time Florida had only a single-party presidential preference primary election was 2012, when the Republican ballot was led by Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum.

2020 Presidential Preference Primary turnout

  • Indian River: 33.3%

  • St. Lucie: 30.44%

  • Martin: 31.17%

7 a.m.: Polls open across Treasure Coast

Polls opened in Indian River, St. Lucie and Martin counties for the Republican presidential primary.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Live updates: Indian River County presidential primary election 2024

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