Voter Registration - ID Requirement - Acceptable Forms of ID - Early Voting - Absentee Voting - Provisional Voting - Sample Ballots - Type of Primary

State Contact Information
Department of State
Division of Elections
Director's Office
Room 316, R.A. Gray Building
500 South Bronough Street
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0250

Phone: (850) 245-6200
Fax: (850) 245-6217
Email: DivElections@dos.state.fl.us
Web: http://election.dos.state.fl.us/index.html


Voter Registration
Who Can Register and Vote
To register and vote, you must be 18 years of age, a citizen of the United States of America and a legal resident of Florida and of the county where you intend to vote. A person who is otherwise qualified may pre-register on or after that person's 17th birthday or receipt of a valid driver's license, whichever is earlier, and may vote in any election held on or after that person's 18th birthday.

Where to obtain a voter registration application:
By mail or in person: Voter registration applications are available at your local supervisor of elections' office, the Division of Elections (their web site is at http://election.dos.state.fl.us/RegToVote/regform.shtml), driver's license offices, state agencies that provide public assistance, state agencies that serve persons with disabilities, public libraries and many other public locations. To request an application from your Supervisor of Elections please visit http://election.dos.state.fl.us/county/index.shtml to locate that office's contact information.

Online: Online voter registration is not available in the Division of Elections website.

Download: You may download the State of Florida Voter Registration Application, then mail to your county Supervisor of Elections.
If you download the application, fill in the PDF application online and print it out, or print the application and write in the information. Please use a black ballpoint pen. THE FLORIDA VOTER REGISTRATION APPLICATION REQUIRES AN ORIGINAL SIGNATURE. If the PDF application is filled in online, it must be printed out and signed prior to mailing.

If your application is complete and you qualify as a voter, the Supervisor of Elections will mail you a voter information card as official notification of your registration.

First-Time Voters Who Register By Mail
If you register by mail and you are a first-time voter in the State and you have not been issued a Florida driver's license number, Florida I.D. number, or a Social Security number you are required to provide additional identification. To assure that you will not have problems when you go to vote, you should provide a copy of the required identification at the time you mail your voter registration form. If you are voting an absentee ballot, you must provide the proper identification prior to 7 p.m. Election Day or your absentee ballot will not count. The following forms of identification are acceptable if they contain your name and photograph:

• United States passport
• Employee badge of identification
• Buyer's club identification
• Debit of credit card
• Military identification
• Student identification
• Retirement center identification
• Neighborhood association identification
• Public assistance Identification

Instead of the photo ID, you may provide a copy of a current and valid utility bill, bank statement, government paycheck, or other government document containing your name and current residence address. Do not send original identification documents to the supervisor of elections.

The following persons are not required to provide the identification required under the previous paragraph:

• Persons 65 years of age or older.
• Persons with a temporary or permanent physical disability.
• Members of the uniformed services on active duty and their spouses and dependants, who, by reason of such active duty, are absent from the county on Election Day.
• Members of the Merchant Marine and their spouses and dependents, who, by reason of service in the Merchant Marine, are absent from the county on Election Day.

When Voters Move
If you move your residence outside your assigned precinct, you must vote in the precinct to which you have moved. If you move, you must notify the supervisor of elections by providing a signed voter registration application indicating the address change.

Generally, you cannot vote in any precinct other than the one in which you live and are registered. However, if you are temporarily living outside your home county, you can apply to be registered and vote in the precinct that contains the main office of the supervisor of elections. These voters will not be registered to vote in municipal elections.

If you move to another county in Florida, you must vote in your new county.

If you have not already provided change of address information to the supervisor of elections prior to the election, you will be required to provide that information before you can vote. In order to avoid delays at the polling place, you should update your address whenever you move.

Close of Registration: Voter registration is closed 29 days before an election.

ID Requirement
When you enter the polling room and before being permitted to vote, you are required to present a photo ID with signature. If the picture identification does not contain the signature of the voter, you will be asked to provide an additional identification with your signature. If you do not have the proper ID, you will be allowed to vote a provisional ballot.

Acceptable Forms of ID

• Florida driver's license
• Florida ID card issued by the Dept. of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles
• U.S. passport
• Employee badge or identification
• Buyer's club identification
• Debit or credit card
• Military identification
• Student identification
• Retirement center identification
• Neighborhood association ID
• Entertainment identification
• Public assistance identification

Voters without ID:
The person shall fill out, in his or her own handwriting or with assistance from a member of the election board, the form and make an affidavit to the facts stated in the filled-in form; such affidavit shall then be sworn to and subscribed before one of the inspectors or clerks of the election who is authorized to administer the oath. Whenever the affidavit is made and filed with the clerk or inspector, the person shall then be admitted to cast his or her vote, but if the person fails or refuses to make out or file such affidavit, then he or she shall not be permitted to vote.


Early Voting (open)
Any qualified registered voter may vote early. Early voting will begin 15 days before an election and will end on the 2nd day before an election. Voters who want to vote early should remember to bring a photo and signature identification with them. Call your supervisor of elections to find out the times and locations early voting is offered in your county.

Absentee Voting/Vote By Mail (open)
All qualified voters are permitted to vote absentee under Florida law. Contact the office of the county Supervisor of Elections where you are registered to vote to request an absentee ballot. You may telephone your request or send the request in writing. One request can cover all elections through the next two general elections.

Provide the following information in your absentee ballot request to your supervisor of elections:

• Your name; your address; and your date of birth. If you send the request in writing, you must sign the request. Your request for an absentee ballot may be denied if you do not provide the required information.
• Specify the election(s) for which you wish to receive an absentee ballot and provide a mailing address.

A designee may pick up an absentee ballot for a voter on Election Day or up to 5 days before Election Day. A designee may only pick up two absentee ballots per election, other than his or her own ballot or ballots for members of his or her immediate family. Designees must have written authorization from the voter, present a picture I.D. and sign an affidavit.

When to request an absentee ballot:
The Supervisor of Elections may accept a request for an absentee ballot in person or in writing. Contact the office of your Supervisor of Elections to request an absentee ballot by mail no later than 5 p.m. on the 6th day before the election

When to vote by Absentee Ballot:
Absentee Ballots are due by mail or in person to the Supervisor of Elections' office no later than 7 p.m. on the day of the election. Do not return your voted absentee ballot to a polling place.

If you have obtained an absentee ballot but are able to vote in your precinct on Election Day, you must take the absentee ballot with you to the polls, whether or not it has been marked. However, if you are unable to return the ballot, you may vote a provisional ballot.


Provisional Voting (in-precinct)
A voter is asked to vote a provisional ballot at the polls due to one of the following reasons:

• The voter's name is not on the official roster of voters and the election officer cannot verify the voter's voting eligibility on Election Day. The Elections Official's Office will check the registration records. If further research determines that the voter is eligible to vote in the election, the provisional ballot will be counted.
• A voter has moved within the county, but did not re-register to vote. The Elections Official will verify the voter's prior registration before the provisional ballot will be counted. The voter's registration will then be updated with the voter's current address.
• Records indicate that the voter requested an absentee ballot and the voter fails to turn in the absentee ballot at the polls on Election Day. The Elections Official's Office will check the records, and if the voter did not vote an absentee ballot, the voter's provisional ballot will be counted.
• The voter is a first- time Federal Election voter in the county and was unable to provide the required proof of identification. The Elections Official's Office will verify the voter's eligibility to vote by comparing the signature on the voter's registration with the signature on the provisional ballot envelope.

Please note:
If you vote a provisional ballot for other reasons (for example, your eligibility is challenged by another person, you are in the wrong precinct when you vote, you do not appear on the precinct register, etc.), you will be provided written notice of your right to present evidence of your eligibility.

• You must provide the evidence to your respective supervisor of elections by 5 p.m, of the third day following the election.
• The local canvassing board will examine your provisional ballot certificate and all other information and evidence available. Then based on the evidence provided of your eligibility, the board will determine whether to count your provisional ballot.

Sample Ballots
Please contact your local county clerk's office for more information about the distribution of sample ballots given that the distribution of sample ballots may vary by county. However, sample ballots will be printed in the local newspaper up to 1 day before the election. In addition, sample ballots will be posted at the voter's polling place on Election Day.

Type of Primary (closed)
Florida is a closed primary election state. Therefore, in order to vote in a primary election for partisan candidates, voters must be registered members of the two major political parties (Democrats and Republicans).Voters who register without declaring a party affiliation are not eligible to vote for major party candidates in a primary election.