Primary Election

Every two years, a state Primary Election is held 11 weeks before the General Election. The Primary Election is for the purpose of nominating party nominees to be voted for in the General Election to fill a national, state, county, or district office. 

Florida is a closed primary election state. Only voters who are registered members of political parties may vote for respective party candidates or nominees for an office in a primary election including a presidential preference primary election.

A person can register with a party or change his or her party affiliation at any time but in order to vote for a party candidate in the primary election on August 20, 2024, the person must register with that party or change his or her party by July 22, 2024.

However, there are times when all registered voters can vote in a primary election, regardless of which major or minor political party they are registered with or even if they are registered without a specific party affiliation:

1. If all the candidates for an office have the same party affiliation and the winner of the primary election will not face any opposition in the general election (i.e. no write-in candidates have qualified), then all registered voters can vote for any of the candidates for that office in the primary election.
2. If races for nonpartisan (i.e., free from party affiliation) judicial and school board offices, nonpartisan special districts or local referendum questions are on the primary election ballot, then all registered voters, including those without party affiliation are entitled to vote those races on the ballot.