Live updates: DeSantis, Rubio win; Salazar beats Taddeo; Miami Beach rejects Deauville site plan

Voters in Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and Monroe counties — and nationwide — were at the polls on Tuesday for midterm elections. Polls opened at 7 a.m. and closed at 7 p.m.

We’ll be updating you here through the night.

DeSantis calls Florida a ‘promised land’

Against the backdrop of a tall American flag, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was welcomed Tuesday by a crowd of cheering supporters who celebrated his reelection victory in Tampa.

During his speech, DeSantis said people from other states governed by leftist leaders have found refuge in Florida.

“The woke agenda has caused millions of Americans to leave these jurisdictions for greener pastures,” he said. “Now this great exodus of Americans, for those folks, Florida, for so many of them, has served as the promised land.”

‘I have only begun to fight’: Here are 4 takeaways from DeSantis’ victory speech

— OMAR RODRÍGUEZ ORTIZ

Miami voters approve downtown Hyatt, Knight Center redevelopment plan

9:29 p.m.: Miami voters have approved a plan to allow Hyatt Hotels Corp. to replace its downtown Regency hotel and the James L. Knight Center, a 40-year-old complex on city land near the mouth of the Miami River, with three skyscrapers.

Now, the hotel company and city officials are expected to negotiate a 99-year lease extension that would allow the construction of Miami Riverbridge, a three-tower complex with hotel rooms, apartments and meeting space. It’s expected to be a $1.5 billion redevelopment of a city-owned property at 400 SE Second Ave.

Miami voters approve plan for redevelopment of downtown Hyatt and Knight Center

— JOEY FLECHAS

Miami Beach voters reject plan at Deauville site. Commission race heads to runoff

8:41 p.m.: Miami Beach voters have rejected ballot questions to allow a plan to build on the former Deauville Beach Resort site and to lease city-owned parking lots near Lincoln Road, according to unofficial results posted Tuesday evening, while Laura Dominguez and Sabrina Cohen are headed to a December runoff for city commission.

The failure of the Deauville and Lincoln Road items is a blow to Mayor Dan Gelber’s agenda and to several developers who had poured millions of dollars into promoting the measures.

Miami Beach voters reject Ross plan at Deauville site. Commission race heads to runoff

— AARON LEIBOWITZ

Salazar beats Taddeo

8:34 p.m.: Voters on Tuesday returned U.S. Rep. María Elvira Salazar to office for a second term representing Florida’s 27th Congressional District, handing her a victory over state Sen. Annette Taddeo in what was widely seen as South Florida’s most competitive congressional race.

The result caps a hotly contested campaign between two Latinas in Florida’s most Hispanic congressional district for a seat that early this year appeared as if it would go unchallenged by Democrats. Democrats saw an opportunity to flip a seat blue, and Republicans saw a chance to solidify the incumbent’s place in a reshaped and reddening district. Nationwide, the race was considered a possible bellwether for how Hispanic voters feel about immigration and democratic systems in the U.S. and abroad, particularly in Latin America.

Republican Congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar beats Taddeo, wins reelection in Miami

Salazar and Taddeo never debated — Salazar declined invitations to spar with her opponent — and polls showed a close race before Election Day. With early votes and mail ballots tallied and most Election Day precincts reporting, Salazar led her opponent by enough votes to secure her seat for another two years.

— JOEY FLECHAS AND DAVID OVALLE

Rubio beats Demings

8:30 p.m.: Sen. Marco Rubio won reelection Tuesday, comfortably defeating Democratic opponent Val Demings in a race defined by pervasive economic pessimism and the national Democratic Party’s reluctance to compete in a state increasingly seen as a conservative stronghold.

With the victory, Rubio, 51, becomes the first Republican U.S. senator in Florida history to win a third term in office — and cements his place as one of the most consequential GOP politicians of his era in the state even as his national political ambitions remain thwarted for the time being.

Rubio beats Demings, makes Florida GOP history with third term in the U.S. Senate

The Associated Press called the race for Rubio shortly after all polling stations in the state closed at 8 p.m. With 77% of the vote in, the Republican held a lead of more than 13 percentage points over the Democratic nominee, winning more than 56% of the vote.

— ALEX ROARTY AND GRETHEL AGUILA

DeSantis wins reelection

8 p.m.: With an apparently commanding victory that gave Republicans gains in every corner of the state, Ron DeSantis won a second term as Florida’s governor on Tuesday night, cementing Florida’s identity as the second most populous red state in the country.

Voters handed DeSantis, who was both praised and attacked nationally over his decision to reopen the state in 2020 during the deadly COVID-19 pandemic, an easy and decisive win over his opponent Charlie Crist, the former governor and St. Petersburg congressman who entered the race as the Democratic underdog. It was Crist’s second attempt at returning to the governor’s mansion.

DeSantis wins reelection, ushering in a red-state era in Florida

The Associated Press called the race for DeSantis moments after the polls closed in Florida’s Panhandle at 8 p.m. EST.

— BIANCA PADRÓ OCASIO AND ANA CEBALLOS

Here’s what we will — and won’t — know as Election Day wraps up

7:45 p.m.: After polling locations shut their doors at 7 p.m., preliminary election results started trickling in.

Unofficial results, for the most part, will be available on Election Night. That means we might know the projected winners of races that aren’t closely contested.

Polls have closed in South Florida. See live midterm election results here

Larger races, like the one for governor or U.S. senator, may not be called on Tuesday because votes across the state are counted or results are too close. Official election results may not be available until Wednesday.

READ MORE: Here’s what we will — and won’t — know as Election Day wraps up in Florida

— GRETHEL AGUILA

Some Miami-Dade votes presumed invalid

6 p.m.: With less than two hours until polls closed, Miami-Dade County election workers were hungry. At 5:15 p.m., carts carrying hot meals in white plastic takeout bags rolled down the hallways of the election office in Doral.

On the dinner menu tonight: chicken with lemon sauce and chickpeas, and pulled pork with red beans, white rice and plantains. Tabulation workers made their selections, some also grabbing a clear plastic box containing a brownie, Hawaiian roll and water bottle.

In the adjacent room, separated from the tabulation machines by a glass window, Miami-Dade County Supervisor of Elections Christina White and two county judges sifted through the 261 vote-by-mail ballots that were presumed invalid from “Batch 8,” which was picked up from the nearby post office on Tuesday morning.

The 261 presumed-invalid ballots included 213 that were rejected because the signatures did not match, five people who had already voted at the polls on Election Day, 11 who had voted early and two who had moved out of the county before they voted, according to a report. The vast majority of ballots in that batch — 14,539 — were accepted.

After the dinner break, the canvassing board will sort through the ballots picked up during today’s 2 p.m. post office run. The third and final run to the post office is at 7 p.m., when polling officially closes.

“We have staff there to make sure that we get every single one in our possession,” said Robert Rodriguez, assistant deputy supervisor of elections. “We’re just looking to see how many ballots arrive by 7 p.m. That’ll determine how much longer this will be. We don’t leave until every single ballot is counted.”

— TESS RISKI

Cuban native votes for the first time in U.S. elections

5:10 p.m.: Carlos Dueñas, a Hialeah resident from Cuba, told el Nuevo Herald that this is his first time voting since he came to the United States 11 years ago.

“I come from a country that doesn’t allow us to vote,” Dueñas said. “I am happy to have been able to vote for the first time in my life in a democratic process. At first I was not very sure what the process was like, but it was very easy.”

But other voters in Hialeah didn’t have the same experience.

Maylen Pérez, an American citizen since 2015, said she has always voted in Precinct 331, the John F. Kennedy Library, located at 190 W 49th St. in Hialeah. However, she denounced that it’s the first time in seven years that she is not allowed to vote there.

Raimil Vázquez, who has been voting since he became a citizen in 2010, said he has previously voted at the JFK Library in Hialeah. But on Tuesday, he wasn’t allowed to vote there because he wasn’t assigned to that precinct.

“What is the difference between voting here or somewhere else if my vote still counts?” Vázquez said. “They make you waste your time.”

Lázaro Barroso, an electoral precinct official at the library, stressed that many people are unaware that on Election Day they must vote at their assigned polling place.

“People get information from their neighbors but they don’t call the electoral body to find out where they have to vote,” Barroso said. “They come here (the John F. Kennedy Library) and they get upset when we tell them they can’t vote in this precinct.”

— VERÓNICA EGUI BRITO

Trump talks about top Florida officials

4:30 p.m.: Former President Donald Trump said on Monday night that potential Republican presidential candidates, like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, shouldn’t run against him in 2024, saying it would “be good for the party,” according to Fox News. Trump hasn’t officially announced that he will run for president.

Trump also called for a GOP leadership change in Congress, Fox News reports, specifically pointing to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. According to the news network, the one-term president said Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida could be a “likely candidate,” calling him a “very talented guy” who is “highly underrated.”

— OMAR RODRÍGUEZ ORTIZ

Afternoon at the precincts

▪ Coconut Grove’s Christ Episcopal Church: Dennis Conlin, 83, said he waited more than an hour for his turn in a booth at the county polling station set up in Coconut Grove’s Christ Episcopal Church.

“I wanted to vote,” he said. “I’ve voted in every election since I was 21.”

Conlin declined to say which candidates he voted for this time. As he spoke around 12:30 p.m., the line of more than a dozen voters waiting to get inside stretched to the sidewalk off William Avenue.

Conlin said the voters in line with him also seemed determined to cast their ballots, despite the delays.

“Nobody gave up and left,” he said.

Roberto Rodriguez, a spokesperson for the Miami-Dade Elections Department, said the polling station’s reported wait times didn’t top 30 minutes on Tuesday. By 2:30 pm, the wait time at the site was only about 10 minutes.

— DOUGLAS HANKS

Department of Justice entering polling sites?

10:15 a.m.: Florida’s secretary of state is pushing back on a U.S. Department of Justice request to enter polling sites in South Florida on Tuesday.

Federal authorities have been regularly monitoring polling sites for civil rights violations since the 1960s. Today, members of the Civil Rights Division will be in 64 places in 24 states.

But this year, they asked to enter polling sites in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, according to Secretary of State Cord Byrd.

Previously, they stayed outside the polling sites, only entering if they had a consent agreement with the counties, Byrd said. In the department’s opinion, those consent agreements have ended.

“When they told us they wanted to go into our polling places, we wanted to make it clear that those are places for election workers and for voters, not for anyone else,” Byrd said during a Tuesday morning news conference.

“This is not to be confrontational in any way,” Byrd clarified. “They sent a letter to the counties asking for permission to be in the polling places. We told him that under state law, that is not permitted.”

Byrd said that officials in Missouri also are refusing to allow federal authorities to enter polling sites.

In a letter to federal officials, the general counsel for the Department of State wrote that Florida officials asked for specific reasons for allowing them to enter polling sites, but they did not receive a response.

“None of the counties are currently subject to any election-related federal consent decrees,” General Counsel Brad McVay wrote. “None of the counties have been accused of violating the rights of language or racial minorities or of the elderly or disabled.”

McVay wrote that the state would send its own monitors to the three counties.

“These monitors will ensure that there is no interference with the voting process,” he wrote.

Under Florida law, only official poll watchers, inspectors, election clerks, the elections supervisor, voters or people helping them vote and law enforcement or emergency personnel with permission by the clerk are allowed to be inside a polling site.

A Department of Justice spokesperson declined to comment.

“We’ve received the letter from the Florida SOS, but we are declining to comment further,” the spokesperson said in an email.

— LAWRENCE MOWER / Herald/Times Tallahassee bureau

Mail-in ballots and what to do

What to do with a completed mail-in ballot caused one voter to be a bit confused Tuesday morning at the Coral Gables Country Club.

The voter had completed his mail-in ballot and wanted to drop it off with elections officials manning the precinct at the country club. But, the officials told him, he could only drop off the ballot at the county’s supervisor of elections office in Doral. (He could have taken his completed mail-in ballot to an early voting center, but that ended Sunday.)

READ MORE: You haven’t mailed your mail-in ballot yet? How South Florida voters can beat deadline

They told him he could surrender the mail-in ballot to them and just vote at the site. But, he said, he wanted to take the completed ballot inside the voting booth and use it as a “cheat sheet.”

No, they said, that is not allowed.

But, they offered a solution: Take a photo on his phone of the completed mail-in ballot and use the photo to guide him when inside the voting booth. But he would still have to surrender the ballot before voting.

He nodded and walked away.

— JOAN CHRISSOS

Morning at the precincts

▪ Snapper Creek precinct: At the Snapper Creek precinct off Sunset Drive and 112th Avenue in the Kendall area, Janelle Perez’s parents — Martin and Sofia Perez — were out working on her behalf by greeting voters who streamed in during the morning. Janelle Perez is running for Senate District 38.

By 8:15 a.m., a little over an hour after polls opened, a steady stream of about 80 voters had come to cast ballots at the Snapper Creek precinct, a poll worker said.

Of course, Martin and Sofia had a vested interest to stand out there on the beltway. “Obviously, it’s extremely important because it’s supporting our daughter,” Martin said, as both smiled. “But not only because she’s our daughter, but because she’s really standing for the right things in this community, which is to reduce the crime level, to continue to enhance investment in small businesses, and to make our streets a lot safer. ... Pro women’s rights.”

Her parents are both Cuban immigrants who arrived in the U.S. when they were children. Martin in 1970 when he was 7, Sofia in 1965 when she was 3, they said.

Perez is running as a moderate Democrat, her parents said. Perez’s Republican opponent is Alexis Calatayud.

The district encompasses Key Biscayne and runs west-southwest to Homestead, taking in South Miami, Pinecrest and Cutler Bay.

“Not an extreme position on either side,” Martin said of his daughter’s position. “Just wanting to do what the people want — which we are all, for the most part, in the middle. We are not all the way to the left. We’re not all the way to the right. We want to be somewhere in the middle which is taking from both and working with both parties.”

Anthony Freedman said he voted straight Democrat at the Snapper Creek precinct before 9 a.m. “This election is important,” he said. “Social Security, to make sure that’s not tampered with. Schools, education, gun violence, things of that nature.”

Freedman is also parent to a 13-year-old daughter, he said. “And that’s why I’m concerned. I’m concerned about her future. So I’m not just voting for myself. I’m voting for her.”

— HOWARD COHEN

Miami area

▪ The Graceland Park precinct at 1550 Northwest 37th Ave. had received a steady stream of voters and there were no lines early on.

But for one would-be voter, it was a bit frustrating. Eugenio Edilio Llanez, who came on foot because he lives nearby, was not allowed to drop his ballot off there even though his driver’s license says he resides nearby on Northwest 18th Street, as he showed to a Miami Herald and el Nuevo Herald reporter.

“I’m not going to vote anymore because I don’t drive,” Llanez said, holding up a piece of paper telling him to vote at the 550th precinct located at 2979 N River Drive.

Llanez, who has family in Cuba but opposes helping the Cuban regime, said he was especially interested in voting because he said he is concerned about the housing situation, immigration and aid to Cuba.

Other voters at the Graceland Park polling station that spoke to the Herald had no problems casting their ballots.

Maritza Ibanez, 64, said that the issue that worries her the most is the economy, which she feels is in bad shape, but she believes that Gov. Ron DeSantis’ management of the economy is correct and that is why she gave him her vote.

She also chose to keep the incumbent of the 27th District, Republican Congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar, in office.

Gerald Castillo, 54, also voted for DeSantis’ reelection, citing his efficient management style. Oriana Bernal, 26, also opted for DeSantis. “More freedom,” she said.

Astrid Cruz, 30, voted to help support teachers and because voting is an importing duty. “Because we are good citizens.”

▪ Miami-Dade County Auditorium

Retired Honduran-born Bernardo López said he went out to vote for all the Democratic candidates.

“That thing about Democrats being socialists is a lie,” said López, who voted in the precinct at the Miami-Dade County Auditorium at 2901 W. Flagler St.

López pointed out that what he is most worried about is the housing situation and low wages in Florida. He also said he fears that Social Security funds will run out.

“If what little we have is taken from us, what are we going to do?” López said he receives $1,000 a month in retirement.

On the other hand, Noel De la Portilla, 47, voted for all the Republican candidates in the same precinct.

“I am concerned about the economy and that there is no communism,” said De la Portilla, who voted for U.S. Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar and U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio.

“I want to keep the Republican majority in the Senate.”

Miguel Valero, 65, voted for Republican candidates.

“This country cannot continue as it is going,” said Valero, who worries about the high cost of living and gasoline and war spending on helping Ukraine.

Both Valero and De la Portilla voted yes on the amendment that proposes to increase property taxes to dedicate more resources to education in the county.

▪ Shenandoah Library

At the Shenandoah Library precinct at Southwest 21st Avenue and 19th Street, several voters were unable to vote. When they approached poll workers at the identification tables they were instructed to vote elsewhere.

Paulette Holton, who oversees voting at the precinct, said many people were confused because it was an early voting precinct.

They also made changes to the precincts,” Holton said, indicating that the voting process has otherwise gone smoothly.

“Many people came to vote early before going to work, and then in the afternoon another large group comes,” said the official, who is in her second year as precinct manager.

— SARAH MORENO

What the maps say

8 a.m.: The congressional map for 2022

The midterms party percentages map:

What you’re voting for and how

7 a.m.: South Florida voters are choosing a U.S. senator, a governor, state legislators and cabinet officers. Voters also are selecting who they want to lead their city halls and school boards, and deciding on state and local referendum issues.

READ MORE: Guide to Nov. 8 election: The candidates and races on South Florida ballots

You have to vote at your assigned precinct Tuesday. If you waited until Election Day to turn in your vote-by-mail ballot, you can’t mail it in now. And you can’t bring it to your assigned precinct to have it counted. But if you had requested a vote-by-mail ballot, you can bring it with you to your precinct and have a poll worker cancel it and then vote in person. Otherwise, if you want to use that mail-in-ballot, you must bring it to your county’s Elections Department before 7 p.m.

In Miami-Dade: at the Miami-Dade Elections Department, 2700 NW 87th Ave. in Doral, or at the Stephen P. Clark Center, 111 NW First St. in Miami.

In Broward: at the Broward County Supervisor of Elections in downtown Fort Lauderdale, 115 S. Andrews Ave., or at the annex at 1501 NW 40th Ave. in Lauderhill.

What’s the weather outlook?

7 a.m.: While people on Florida’s east coast should start preparing for Nicole’s expected landfall this week, possibly as a Category 1 hurricane, you don’t have to worry about the system messing up your voting plans.

Nicole is forecast to hit Florida late Wednesday or early Thursday. That’s after Election Day.

And it looks like Mother Nature wants you to cast your ballot. The weather is forecast to be nice for much of Tuesday. And the odds of needing an umbrella at the polls are slim.

The National Weather Service’s forecast is calling for Tuesday to be mostly sunny in Miami-Dade, Broward, Monroe and Palm Beach counties with a high in the 80s.

There’s a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms, likely in the afternoon. The forecast is calling for a 20% chance of rain Tuesday in Miami-Dade and the Keys, with a 30% rain chance in Broward and Palm Beach counties.

Rain chances are expected to pick up Tuesday night, mostly after 8 p.m., which means your election watch party might get drenched. The polls close at 7 p.m.