Monday was the first day of early voting for most of Central Florida ahead of the Nov. 3 General Election.
Orange County voters showed up in much higher numbers Monday, compared to the first day of early voting in 2022.
On Monday, 13,683 people voted in person in Orange County.
“In the last midterm, … on our first day of early voting, we had 7,500,” Blake Summerlin said. “So we nearly have doubled how many folks came out on the first day of early voting, and that's something we're really excited about.”
Summerlin is with the Orange County Supervisor of Elections. He said voters are eager to be heard in this year’s midterms.
Floridians are choosing local and state representatives, including the next governor, and voting on a property tax initiative. They’ll also help decide which party controls Congress for the rest of President Trump’s second term.
Some voters are switching to early voting because of national efforts to restrict mail-in voting this year, Summerlin said.
“It's definitely a reassuring sign to see that the numbers are up,” he said. “We are watching the numbers closely today and they seem to be about on pace with yesterday.”
Statewide, at least 1.1 million people have voted. That includes 171,015 Floridians who had voted early as of the close of early voting on Monday and at least 933,867 who have returned vote-by-mail ballots.
In Central Florida, 50,198 voters had cast ballots early in person for the midterms as of 8 p.m. on Monday, when early voting locations closed for the day. Another 194,352 have already voted by mail.
An upcoming deadline
Mail-in voting in the Nov. 3 general election has been underway for several weeks now. The deadline to request a mail-in ballot is Thursday, Oct. 22, but mail-in ballots are also available to pick up in person at county election supervisors’ offices after that deadline.
In Florida, mail-in ballots aren’t counted unless they’re delivered by Election Day.
“Don't mail it back too late,” Summerlin said. “We recommend at least a week in advance of Election Day, but really, do it as soon as possible.”
Voters can also hand-deliver their mail-in ballots at early voting sites, or at their local election supervisors’ office.
Early voting information
Voters can find the locations and times for early voting on the websites for their county supervisor of elections:
Early voting in Marion County opens on Thursday. It starts on Saturday in Sumter County. (Under Florida law, counties don’t have to offer early voting until 10 days before the election, but they can offer it up to 5 days before that.)
Unlike on Election Day, early voters can vote in person at any early voting location.
You can find information on candidates and ballot measures in the General Election Voter Guide.
