Democrats can vote in Republican commissioner primary races

DemoLady · 06-30-2008, 01:27 PM

The following information was obtained from the Supervisor of Elections office. Several Democrats have been concerned that they cannot vote for the Republican candidates in the County Commissioner races, which do not have Democratic candidates. In fact, they can.

"Florida is a closed primary state. If you wish to vote in a Primary Election, you must be registered in the party for which the primary is being held. However, if all candidates for an office have the same party affiliation and the winner will have no opposition in the General Election, all electors may vote in the Primary Election for that office. All registered voters may vote for non-partisan candidates and issues."

Obviously, since a Democrat is running in the Sheriff's race, only Republicans will be able to select an opponent out of that large field at the primary election. However, since the County Commissioner races are so important, it's good to know every voter (Democrats included) will have the opportunity to vote for the Republican candidate of their choice because the winner will be the commissioner since no Democrats are on the primary ballot.

aleonard · 06-30-2008, 01:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DemoLady

The following information was obtained from the Supervisor of Elections office. Several Democrats have been concerned that they cannot vote for the Republican candidates in the County Commissioner races, which do not have Democratic candidates. In fact, they can.

"Florida is a closed primary state. If you wish to vote in a Primary Election, you must be registered in the party for which the primary is being held. However, if all candidates for an office have the same party affiliation and the winner will have no opposition in the General Election, all electors may vote in the Primary Election for that office. All registered voters may vote for non-partisan candidates and issues."

Obviously, since a Democrat is running in the Sheriff's race, only Republicans will be able to select an opponent out of that large field at the primary election. However, since the County Commissioner races are so important, it's good to know every voter (Democrats included) will have the opportunity to vote for the Republican candidate of their choice because the winner will be the commissioner since no Democrats are on the primary ballot.

Thank you for this. I clarified this in a post on my earlier article that led to this confusion. I also have an article coming out this week to clarify this as well. There are four closed primary's on the list though. Not just one.

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trish hutchison · 07-02-2008, 05:02 PM

Democrats will be able to vote for Superintendent of Schools, County Comm. Dist. 3, and County Comm. Dist. 5. Also, since the School Board is nonpartisan, Democrats will be able to vote in both of those races. I got this information from a Sample Ballot that I picked up from the Supervisor's office. Hope this helps.