The 2028 Primary Election will be held on August 18. It is important that Tallahasseans– and all Floridians– vote.
While partisan races often get most of the attention, most local races have nonpartisan candidates and are decided by all voters. These include county and city commissioners, school board members, judges and special districts. Local government most directly affects the lives of people in communities, and it makes sense that they be chosen by as many residents as possible. Voting in the primary is important.
If more than two candidates are running in a nonpartisan race, the primary election is the place where the final two candidates will be selected to run in the November general election. All registered voters – from both parties – will determine these candidates. Further highlighting the importance of the primary, if a single candidate gets more than 50% of the vote, he or she is elected, and the general election will not be necessary in this case.
During the primary, voters who have identified as Democrat or Republican will vote to determine their party’s candidate in the November general election for Florida and US house races, governor, attorney general, chief financial officer and agriculture secretary.
Florida voters who wish to change their party affiliation for the upcoming primary must do so by July 20th and can visit Florida’s Online Voter Registration System at registertovoteflorida.gov to update an existing registration.
Leon County voters can view their primary ballot and request Vote-by-Mail ballots at LeonVotes.gov. Vote-by-Mail ballots must be requested every election cycle.
Need more information on local candidates? The League of Women Voters of Tallahassee, along with the Capital Region News Collaborative which includes the Tallahassee Democrat, hosted candidate forums for city commission/mayor, school board and circuit judge on June 17, 18 and 23. Links to the recorded candidate forums can be found at http://www.cfnf.org/crnc/.
Kathy Winn is a former president of the League of Women Voters of Tallahassee and a clerk at one of Leon County’s 131 precincts for voting on election day.
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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Primary elections are important – please vote | Opinion
Reporting by Kathy Winn, Your Turn / Tallahassee Democrat
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Kathy Winn, Your Turn | USA TODAY Network
