Florida’s statewide primary is locked in for Aug. 18, 2026, and the election clock is already ticking. Voters who want a ballot mailed to them have to ask for it by Aug. 6, anyone who needs to register or switch party affiliation has until July 20, early voting lands in the middle of August, and all completed vote-by-mail ballots must be in county elections offices by 7 p.m. on Aug. 18 if they are going to count.
On the line are more than 1,077 positions, covering everything from U.S. House seats to county and school board posts. Dozens of candidates are also lining up to replace term-limited Gov. Ron DeSantis, and the choices voters make on Aug. 18 will trim the fields headed to the Nov. 3 general election. In other words, every local race on that ballot matters, as highlighted in a recent lining up to replace Gov. Ron DeSantis breakdown.
Key Dates To Remember
Florida’s election calendar is packed, and the deadlines are fixed. Statewide, voters should circle these dates:
Register to vote or change your party by July 20. Supervisors must send ballots to UOCAVA voters by July 4 and to domestic voters sometime between July 9 and 16. The cutoff to request a mailed ballot is 5 p.m. on Aug. 6. Mandatory early voting runs from Aug. 8 through Aug. 15. Then comes the main event: Election Day on Aug. 18. All of this comes from the official schedule maintained by the Florida Division of Elections.
Vote-By-Mail Rules, Drop-Offs And Cure
For those opting to vote by mail, timing and signatures are everything. County supervisors must receive completed vote-by-mail ballots by 7 p.m. on Election Day for them to count. Military and overseas voters operate on separate timelines, but for everyone else, late is the same as not at all.
Florida law does give you a second chance if something is wrong with the envelope. If a vote-by-mail ballot comes back unsigned, or if the signature does not match what is on file, voters are allowed to “cure” the problem. That means submitting a signed cure affidavit and a copy of acceptable ID to the county elections office by 5 p.m. on the second day after the election. County elections websites spell out how this works in practice, including where to drop off forms and whom to call. Miami-Dade’s elections site, for example, details the affidavit, drop-off locations and contact information for that process through Miami-Dade County Elections.
How To Make A Plan
A solid voting plan in Florida starts with the basics: confirming that you are registered and that your polling place has not changed. You can verify your registration status and find your assigned precinct using the state’s voter lookup at Florida’s voter portal.
Once that is squared away, it helps to know what and who will be on your ballot. Nonpartisan tools like BallotReady and Vote.org can walk you through the contests and candidates you will see.
If you prefer to vote by mail, you need to request that ballot by Aug. 6. You can do that through your county supervisor of elections website or through the statewide request system. County supervisors can also walk voters through questions over the phone. In Broward County, the Broward Supervisor of Elections can be reached at (954) 357-VOTE, and in Monroe County, the Monroe County Supervisor of Elections can be contacted at (305) 292-3416.
For specific details on early-voting hours and secure drop box locations, voters should check their individual county elections websites, which list sites, dates and times for each jurisdiction.
Why It Matters
Florida runs a closed primary system, which means only voters registered with a political party can help choose that party’s nominees on Aug. 18. Voters who are registered with no party affiliation, or with a different party than the one whose primary they want to vote in, need to change that registration by the July 20 deadline if they want a say.
This primary will pare down crowded candidate fields ahead of the Nov. 3 general election, and with hundreds of local races on the ballot, decisions made in August will ripple through neighborhoods across the state. For a deeper dive into party rules and the full election calendar, the state’s official word is available from the Florida Division of Elections.
