1.33 Million Early Votes Cast in Florida Primary as Tuesday Election Nears

With Florida's primary election just five days away, early voting momentum is building across the state as more than 1.33 million voters have already cast ballots. As of 2 p.m. Thursday, August 13, those votes include both mail-in ballots and in-person early voting, with Republicans holding a slight overall lead in turnout despite more than 1 million vote-by-mail ballots still outstanding.

The voting patterns show a split in how each party is participating: Democrats have returned about 55,000 more mail ballots than Republicans, while Republicans have voted early in person at a higher rate, casting nearly 100,000 more in-person early votes than Democrats. Early voting continues through Saturday in some counties and Sunday in others, with election day set for Tuesday, August 18.

What's happening

According to data released Thursday afternoon, 593,800 Republicans have voted so far compared to 555,056 Democrats, with another 160,000 votes cast by voters with no party affiliation. Republicans currently enjoy a registration advantage of nearly 1.6 million voters statewide.

Of the approximately 1 million vote-by-mail ballots that have been requested but not yet returned, about 429,000 belong to Democrats, 325,000 to Republicans, and 228,000 to no-party-affiliation voters. These outstanding ballots must be returned to county supervisors of elections by 7 p.m. on election day Tuesday — the postmark date does not matter under Florida law.

In Northeast Florida's Duval County, which encompasses Jacksonville and surrounding areas, 39,844 voters have cast ballots early or by mail, while 18,400 vote-by-mail ballots remain outstanding. Other large Florida counties show similar patterns: Miami-Dade has the most outstanding mail ballots at 113,505 with 116,851 already cast, while Pinellas County has 114,432 outstanding ballots but has already seen 83,226 votes cast.

Early voting is available in all 67 Florida counties through at least Saturday, with some counties extending hours through Sunday. Voters can find their county's specific early voting schedule and polling locations through their local supervisor of elections office.

Voter participation compared to recent cycles

The 2026 primary turnout trajectory is tracking closer to 2024 levels than the higher-turnout presidential cycles of 2020 and 2022. In the 2024 primary, 2.07 million ballots were cast early or by mail with 1.02 million requested mail ballots not returned. That compares to 2.9 million early and mail votes in 2020 with 1.9 million unreturned mail ballots, and 2.36 million cast in 2022 with 2.3 million unreturned.

The lower number of unreturned mail ballots in 2024 and the current cycle reflects changing voting patterns in Florida, where in-person early voting has grown more popular while mail voting has declined from its 2020 pandemic-year peak. The shift also coincides with Republican Party organizational efforts to boost early voting participation among GOP voters, who historically favored election-day voting.

Florida GOP chair Evan Power has made voter registration a key focus since taking the role. At a Thursday campaign rally in Wakulla County for gubernatorial candidate Byron Donalds, the congressman referenced the Republican registration advantage, noting that Power had built the GOP lead from 1.4 million in November 2024 to more than 1.5 million currently. In 2018, the Florida Democratic Party held a registration advantage of about 260,000 voters — a dramatic reversal over eight years.

What this means for Northeast Florida races

In Duval County and across Northeast Florida, the primary election will determine party nominees for several key local races. Because Florida has closed primaries, only voters registered with a party can vote in that party's contests — except in races where all candidates are from the same party or are running with no party affiliation, which are open to all voters including NPAs.

The nearly 40,000 early votes already cast in Duval represent a significant portion of typical primary turnout. Primary elections historically see lower participation than general elections, making the early vote especially meaningful as a share of the total. Voters who have requested mail ballots but not yet returned them should prioritize doing so quickly, as ballots must arrive at the supervisor's office by 7 p.m. Tuesday regardless of when they were mailed.

For voters with no party affiliation in Northeast Florida — who make up a growing share of the electorate — participation in the primary is limited to nonpartisan races such as some judicial seats and local offices where no party affiliation is designated, or in races where write-in candidates have not been filed. In general elections, all registered voters can participate regardless of party affiliation.

The Duval County Supervisor of Elections office operates multiple early voting sites across Jacksonville, distributed to serve the Northside, Southside, Westside, and beaches communities, as well as the urban core. Specific site hours and locations are available on the Duval Supervisor of Elections website.

What happens next

Early voting continues through this weekend, with the last day varying by county — some counties end early voting Saturday, August 15, while others continue through Sunday, August 16. Voters should check with their local supervisor of elections for specific hours and locations.

Vote-by-mail ballots must be returned by 7 p.m. on Tuesday, August 18, to county supervisors of elections offices. Voters can return ballots by mail, but given the proximity to the deadline, officials recommend using secure ballot drop boxes at supervisor offices or early voting sites, or hand-delivering ballots to the supervisor's office on election day. Drop boxes are typically available 24/7 and are monitored by security cameras.

Election day polling places will be open Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. statewide. Voters must cast ballots at their assigned precinct on election day — unlike early voting, where voters can use any early voting site in their county. Voters can confirm their precinct location, check their voter registration status, and view a sample ballot on the Florida Division of Elections website or through their county supervisor's website.

Results will begin coming in shortly after 7 p.m. Tuesday, with early votes and mail ballots typically reported first, followed by election-day precinct results as they are tallied. Primary winners will advance to the November 3 general election, where the region's continuing population growth and the Republican voter-registration advantage will shape contests for state and local offices across Duval, St. Johns, Clay, Nassau, and surrounding Northeast Florida counties.