The Aug. 20 election is referred to as the “primary election.” It is an unfortunate name as every registered voter has the opportunity to vote in this election. Read on for an explanation.
Party Primaries
Florida is a closed primary election state, meaning that a voter must select a party in order to vote in that party’s primary elections. If the voter does not select a party when they register to vote, they will be listed as a No Party Affiliate (NPA), and they will not be allowed to vote in any party primaries. To be able to vote in an August 20th party primary election, a voter must register with a party by end of day on July 22nd. This is also the last day for a new voter to register to vote.
Universal Primaries
However, there are times when all registered voters can vote in a primary election, regardless of which major or minor political party they are registered as or even if they are registered as NPA. If all the candidates for an office have the same party affiliation and the winner of the primary election will not face any opposition in the general election (i.e. no write-in candidates have qualified), then all registered voters can vote for any of the candidates for that office in the primary election. This is often referred to as a universal primary.
Broward County has five universal primaries for the August 20 election. The candidate with the most votes for each race is the winner and is elected to that office on August 20. The elected offices with universal primaries are:
-- Florida House Districts 98 (parts of Deerfield Beach, Pompano Beach and Oakland Park west of US 1)
-- Florida House Districts 99 (Wilton Manors, areas in western Fort Lauderdale through eastern Plantation)
-- Clerk of Circuit Court
-- Tax Collector (a new position)
-- Supervisor of Elections
Nonpartisan Races
Also on the ballot for the August 20 election are nonpartisan races, meaning the candidates have no party affiliation listed after their name. All registered voters can vote in these elections, which include:
-- Circuit Court Judge
-- County Court Judge
-- School Board.
For the nonpartisan races, a candidate must have 50% plus one of the votes cast to win that race. If there are only two candidates for a race, the winner will be decided on August 20. If there are three or more candidates for a race, it is quite possible that no single candidate will win 50% plus one of the votes cast, and the top two candidates will face each other in the November 5 General Election.