Voters from Florida will vote today for the Republican nominee for president; that nominee will then take on President Barack Obama in November.
Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. today ONLY, January 31st.
Who gets to vote?
To vote, you will have to be a registered Republican.
For Democrats, no one is challenging President Obama in Florida. So Democrats will not vote in a presidential primary this year — just in the general election in November.
If you’re registered with a minor party or with No Party Affiliation — Florida’s version of “Independent” — you also cannot vote for president in this closed Republican primary.
There is an important exception: Some cities are holding city elections today. Those city elections are open to all voters, no matter their party affiliation.
What do I need to bring?
You do not need your voter registration card to cast a ballot. But under Florida election law, you do need to bring a photo identification.
If you don’t bring a photo ID, the poll workers will hold your ballot separately and check it later against their official registration records to decide whether it counts.
Where do I go?
You will have to vote in your assigned precinct today. You can’t just go to the location closest to work or your kid’s school.
There are some easy ways to find your Tampa Bay voting location information.
– Look on your voter registration card
– Call your county’s Supervisor of Elections office
– Search online using the precinct finder tool on your Supervisor of Elections’ website
OR – click on your counties website:
Pinellas County – http://www.votepinellas.com/
Hillsborough County – http://votehillsborough.org/?id=3
Hernando County – http://www.hernandovotes.com/?id=74
Pasco County – http://pascovotes.com/
Manatee County – http://www.votemanatee.com/
Sarasota County – http://www.srqelections.com/
Citrus County – http://www.votecitrus.com/index.php?id=15
Polk County – http://www.polkelections.com/content.asp?c=12
There is a way around the requirement to vote at your assigned polling place. You can go to one of your county’s main Supervisor of Elections offices and request an absentee ballot.
They’ll hand you a ballot. You can then vote right there and hand it back to them. That ballot will be counted.
Contributor: 10 News
