Almost 2.5 Floridians have already voted via vote-by-mail in this year’s so-important election — including 202,386 in Miami-Dade — as early voting begins Monday at 33 locations, the most in county history, from the beach to the Everglades.
If the trend at other states is any indication, we may have lines and long waits at some of these locations. Stay away from the Coral Gables library, if you can. Try the Shenandoah or Pinecrest branches, instead.
“We are bracing for a record turnout,” Miami-Dade Elections Supervisor Christina White told CBS4 Local News last week, after testing the machines publicly. “There will be lines. My objective is to make sure that the lines are moving.”
Not only are there more locations than ever, she said, but there are the maximum amount of hours and days allowed by law, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily through the Sunday before it all ends Nov. 3. That should help spread it out, White said.
It’s also safe, she added.
“You must have a mask on in order to come into any voting location whether it be early voting or Election Day. We are taking all the CDC and Department of Health guidelines into consideration,” White said, adding that they are repeating the procedures from the primary in which “our voters were very happy and they felt safe.”
About 5,000 poll workers will have face masks, face shields, gloves. “They’ll be wiping down all of the common touch points throughout the day,” White said. “If that’s your voting method of choice, you’ll be able to do so safely.”
Read related: More than half a mil Miami-Dade vote-by-mail, absentee ballots favor Dems
Voters can also safely submit vote-by-mail ballots in drop boxes stationed at every early voting site.
According to the Florida Division of Elections, almost half a million voters in Miami-Dade have hung on to their ABs. Some are likely Republicans, who don’t trust the post office after Donald Trump‘s baseless claims. Some political observers expect the huge gap between Democrat and Republican voters will close somewhat.
Other voters just want to see their ballots off personally — like taking a friend to the airport and wishing them a safe trip. They need that “I voted” sticker.
But those people need to take their ballots to the drop boxes now so we can, maybe, get local results on Election Day night.
“If a lot of voters wait until the last minute and give us their ballots on Election Day, then we could see ourselves continue to tabulate until the following day,” White said.
Here is the list of the 33 early voting locations again.
Early voting starts Monday with more days and hours — but wear a mask added by Ladra on
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