Miami’s holding a special election for a new District 2 commissioner. Why on Monday?

Voters from Coconut Grove up to Morningside will be electing a new District 2 commissioner on Monday — which probably sounds weird. Why is there an election in February? And aren’t elections always on a Tuesday?

One of the five seats on Miami’s City Commission is currently empty, and it needs to be filled fast. A combination of politicians’ decisions and longstanding city rules led to the unusual Monday election.

First, former District 2 Commissioner Ken Russell resigned Dec. 29, a few days before he was lawfully required to leave office. He ran for Congress last year (unsuccessfully), and state law required him to vacate his City Commission seat 10 months before the end of his second four-year term.

Read more: Miami has a special election. Here are District 2 candidates talking about issues

Once Russell left, the remaining four commissioners had a series of deadlines to meet, according to the city charter. They had 10 days to decide if they would appoint someone to serve until the November election, or call a special election and allow voters to decide. Commissioners met for two days on a weekend just before the deadline to decide. After much public debate and several 2-2 votes, the commission called a special election on Jan. 8, a few hours before the deadline.

From that point, the city had to open a five-day qualifying period so candidates could file to run, according to the charter. The charter also required the city to hold an election between 38 and 45 days after the qualifying period closed. Because qualifying ended Jan. 13, the last day the election could be held was Monday, Feb. 27. To hold an election on a Tuesday would’ve meant cutting a six-week campaign shorter by nearly a week, making a lightning-fast election with 13 candidates even faster.

The short campaign has been a sprint for the crowded field, with several large candidate forums and a flurry of campaign ads on TV, mailed fliers and text message blasts.

A small number of votes could make the difference — there won’t be a runoff. Whoever receives the most votes wins, so there could be a clear view of who will fill the District 2 seat for eight months by the end of the night Monday.

Read more: Here are the people and businesses funding campaigns in Miami’s special election

Where can I vote?

Early voting sites will be open until 7 p.m. Friday, and from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday.

The three early voting locations are:

▪ Miami City Hall, 3500 Pan American Drive

▪ Lemon City Library, 430 NE 61st St.

▪ Stephen P. Clark Government Center, 111 NW First St.

More than 7,000 voters requested vote-by-mail ballots in this election. Less than half of those ballots have been returned. People who have completed mail ballots can drop them off at secure boxes at early voting locations, or they can take them to the Election Department’s headquarters in Doral on Monday. The elections department is located at 2700 NW 87th Ave., Doral, FL 33172.

Polls will open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Monday. Those who want to vote on Monday must go to their assigned polling location, which may not be one of the early voting locations listed above. You can check your assigned voting location on the Miami-Dade County Elections Department’s website, https://www.miamidade.gov/global/elections/home.page.

As of Friday afternoon, about 3,600 people had returned mail ballots and voted early. That’s about 7.3% of about 49,000 total active and eligible voters in District 2.