Vote-by-mail begins in Florida ahead of August primary

Ballots are being cast for the 2026 primary election in Florida.

As of early Thursday morning, 248 mail ballots were returned in 35 county elections offices, according to numbers posted by the Florida Division of Elections.

More than 800,000 mail ballots have been sent out after an initial batch went to people overseas and in the military.

Of the ballots returned so far for the Aug. 18 primaries, registered Republicans had submitted 58, while Democrats had submitted 170. Voters without party affiliation had returned 17, while three have come from people registered with minor parties.

Of the mail ballots requested but not yet returned, nearly 350,000 went to Democrats, nearly 281,300 to Republicans, about 153,300 to unaffiliated voters and nearly 17,400 to people registered with third parties.

The deadline for registering to vote in the primary or for changing party affiliation is July 20.

In-person early voting at limited polling locations will run from Aug. 8 to Aug. 15 in most counties.