2 Million Floridians Have Already Voted, Republican Registrants Holding 43-40 Edge Over Democrats
FlaglerLive | October 26, 2018
Early voting at the Flagler Supervisor of Elections office this week. (© FlaglerLive)
More than 2 million Floridians have voted in the Nov. 6 general election, with Republicans outpacing Democrats in early voting and vote-by-mail ballots.
The latest numbers, posted Friday by the state Division of Elections, came as Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum continued making appearances at college campuses to try to drum up participation in early voting.
“The way that you make good on a demand is by showing up and letting an elected official know that you have the power to put them in office and the power to take them out of office. That is the power that you have,” Gillum told a Tallahassee crowd of about 200 people, who were mostly students from Florida State University and Florida A&M University.
After the appearance outside the Florida State University College of Law, Gillum was slated to make additional stops Friday at the University of Florida in Gainesville and Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach. He visited South Florida campuses on Thursday.
Republican nominee Ron DeSantis, meanwhile, was scheduled Friday afternoon to make an appearance in Miami-Dade County with his running mate, state Rep. Jeanette Nunez of Miami. He appeared Thursday in Jacksonville with Vice President Mike Pence.
As of Friday morning, 869,745 Republicans had cast ballots, compared to 808,288 Democrats and 347,488 unaffiliated voters, out of the state’s nearly 13.3 million registered voters, according to the Division of Elections.
Republicans were up 636,016 to 575,601 over Democrats in vote-by-mail ballots and held a slight edge in early voting, 233,729 to 232,687.
Early voting started Monday in 31 counties, with more counties gradually beginning throughout the week. Early voting is required to be offered statewide from Saturday through Nov. 3.
Unaffiliated voters had cast 258,295 vote-by-mail ballots and 89,193 early votes.
Third-party voters had returned 7,978 vote-by-mail ballots and had cast 4,306 early votes.
In noting that turnout for the Nov. 6 election has already topped 15 percent, the Florida Chamber of Commerce posted in a daily report that black voters account for about 9 percent of the people who have cast ballots. Gillum is trying to become the state’s first black governor.
A day earlier, the chamber noted that vote-by-mail ballots were on a record pace, with some of the biggest turnout percentages coming from “smaller, older and Republican counties” such as Sumter, Lee and Indian River.
Vote-by-mail “returns continue to come in strong with 39.81 percent of requested ballots returned to the supervisor of elections,” the chamber report said. “Given that Democrat and non-party affiliate returns are coming in above baseline of 2014 and Republicans just at baseline of 2014, it seems very likely we could have return rates for (vote-by-mail) approaching 65 percent — meaning there could be 2.4 million ballots mailed in by election day, a record for a gubernatorial election.”
–News Service of Florida
I’m a registered Republican. I voted BLUE! I wonder if I count as a Republican who has voted? If yes, Surprise, Surprise!
I commend Andrew Gillum for running a clean campaign amid the smear ads being mounted by the Republican PACs. However, I would recommend that he include his white running mate Chris King in his ads and appearances so that the Democratic ticket is perceived as multi-racial, not Obama Jr. I think most Florida voters want to move beyond identity politics. Maybe I am too much of an optimist. I am a registered Republican who has split his mail ballot about 50-50.
This information should not be released until after the polls close.
The Republicans voters might have an edge over Democrats, but I’m guessing a lot of those Republican votes
are from people that have buyer’s remorse from 2016 election, and let’s not forget the unaffiliated voters.
A vote for Republicans is a vote for 2 more years of madness.
Yes!!!! The power belongs to the people who are interested enough to VOTE.
Im guessing that a lot of Ds and independents are from people that have seen all the vile attacks on Trump and Rs by Ds and also see how well this Republic is doing and will vote to keep the POSITIVE changes going.
When do I start waving bye to the blue wave? LOL
Went to vote, noticed the volunteer put my sign slip into a separate pile. Asked her why, she said she separates Dems from Rep. to keep count of votes.
I voted early at the library in Palm Coast. One suggestion, please have the candidates moved further from the building. I don’t like being accosted by them when walking towards the voting area. And I even changed one vote because of something said to me.
People cheer for the “winning team.” That is why I believe the practice of writing articles such as this one is irresponsible. A Republican may think, “I don’t feel like going out to vote. Trump is ahead anyway and doesn’t need my vote.” A Democrat may think, “I don’t feel like going out to vote. Trump is ahead anyway.”
Agreed!
After the tsunami?
Press and voter suppression is not the way to win and election.
I do not understand as Phil related above his signing slip placed in a separate pile by the poll worker, to keep count of GOP’s s and DEM’s voting records I do not get it as we are to sign in a little computer screen terminal…not in a hard copy now. Just make sure that the signing screen shows blank and ready for your signature and do not have instead the signature of the voter before you like happened to me and husband in the past general’s.
How can any sensible person vote democrat? Shheshhh!
Are you people ignoring the 340,000-plus Independent or non-Republican/Democrat voters who have cast votes? My guess is that many many many of them are not voting Republican.
Vote for the person you know to be of good character regardless of party. But don’t be swayed by an NPA label either. Some NPA’s just didn’t get their chosen party’s support – like our lawsuit-loving McDonald, whose character in my humble opinion, leaves a lot to be desired