Florida Early Vote Tops 5.15 Million Ballots as Early Voting Closes
More than 5.15 million Floridians cast ballots before Election Day - 13 percent more than at the same point in 2022 - with registered Republicans holding a 3.1-point registration edge among those who have voted.
Florida's early vote is closed, and it is big. A total of 5,152,684 ballots had been returned through Saturday, October 31, according to the newest count compiled from Florida Division of Elections and county election files - 426,191 of them added on the final day alone, and 13 percent more than at the same point of voting in 2022.
By party registration - which shows how a voter is registered, not how they voted - registered Republicans cast 2,097,822 of the early ballots and registered Democrats 1,939,644, a Republican registration edge of 3.1 points, down from 7.4 points at the same point in 2022. Registered Democrats have cast 17 percent more ballots than at this point in 2022, Republicans 5 percent more, and unaffiliated voters 24 percent more. Most early ballots were cast in person: 3,257,538 in person against 1,895,146 returned by mail.
In Lee County, 210,874 ballots were in through October 30 - already 99 percent of the county's entire 2022 early vote, with a Republican registration edge of 24.3 points among those voters. What none of the tallies can say is who is winning: ballots stay sealed until they are counted, and Election Day itself - Tuesday, November 3, polls open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. - will add the final, decisive share.
