President Biden and former President Trump are now the presumptive nominees, so what is left to do?
In Central Florida, plenty.
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Hey guys, it’s Christie Zizo, back to remind you that we don’t just elect presidents in this country.
On Tuesday, Arizona, Illinois, Kansas, Ohio and Florida are holding presidential primaries. These primaries at this point are academic exercises, largely. Last week, Biden and Trump got enough delegate support to become their parties’ presumptive nominees at the national conventions later this summer.
Nevertheless, Florida Republicans are still able to vote on a presidential primary ballot, and votes will be counted on Tuesday night.
For folks in Flagler and Orange counties, there are city elections too and those are more important. There are 40 of them, including lots of ballot questions in several cities. Even if you are not planning to vote in the Republican presidential primary, if you live in any of these cities or towns, you should go to the polls Tuesday, if you haven’t already.
Check out our complete guide to voting on Tuesday for details.
The counting will be live
Inside the Orange County Supervisor of Elections office, there’s a large room with rows of tables, stacks of mailboxes, and two large windows. Through those windows, people can stand and watch workers inspect ballot envelopes and signatures, and hand over ballots for processing and tabulation.
The visual of people huddled around the windows, leering at election workers became indelible after the 2000 election. The elections office added giant screens outside the room so that more people could get a good view of the ballot processing.
Now, in Orange County people can stream the process from their phones.
Starting Tuesday, anyone can go onto the Orange County Supervisor of Elections office website and sign up to watch a live feed of the ballot processing.
The idea comes from new interim Elections Supervisor Glen Gilzean, who took the job only two weeks ago.
“The true intent is to show that our elections are safe, the votes are counted and more importantly there’s transparency,” Gilzean said.
I went with News 6′s Mike Holfeld to learn about the new live stream and see how it works. Check out Mike’s story here.
While you’re at it, check out Mike’s interview with Gilzean too.
Have election questions? We have answers
Here’s everything you need to know to vote in Florida in 2024
Want to vote in Florida? Here’s how to register and make sure you are eligible
Planning to vote by mail in Florida this year? Here’s what you need to know
Florida is a closed primary state. Why that matters for primary elections in 2024
Want to run for office in Florida? Here’s how to do it
35 Florida elections myths and misinformation debunked
Have an election question you need answered? Email me at czizo@wkmg.com.
Key 2024 Election Dates
Here are the big Election Dates for Florida. Put these in your schedule to remember:
Florida Presidential Preference Primary: March 19
Only a Republican primary, no Democratic primary this go around. However, there will be elections for residents of certain cities and towns. We are working on getting a list together and I’ll send out another newsletter when I have it.
2024 Florida Statewide Primary Election: Aug. 20
- Register to vote deadline: July 22
- Vote-by-mail ballot request deadline: Aug. 8
If there are any party primaries for federal, state or local races, they will happen here. Also, any nonpartisan county races will happen here.
2024 General Election: Nov. 5
- Register to vote deadline: Oct. 7
- Vote-by-mail ballot request deadline: Oct. 24
This one’s for all the marbles. All voters welcome.