Florida Primary Election 2020: Most-Watched Races Across State

MIAMI, FL — Voters across Florida will head to the polls Tuesday to choose their party's nominees for a number of important elected offices, including congressional seats, county commissions, state attorneys, sheriffs and mayors among others. The polls will remain open until 7 p.m. local time.

Coronavirus fears and the convenience factor are likely to have driven more than 2.77 million Floridians to vote early, either by mail or at one of the state's early voting locations. Voters have until 7 p.m. Tuesday to submit any remaining vote-by-mail ballots to their local supervisors of elections. State election officials said 2,088,715 vote-by-mail ballots still had not been returned as of Tuesday morning.

"We understand that some voters prefer to vote in person," assured Florida Secretary of State Laurel M. Lee on social media. "If that’s you, you can be confident that safety precautions are being taken to protect your health and safety and that of everyone involved in the voting process."

President Donald Trump put in his request last week for a Florida mail-in ballot even though he has repeatedly brought up the possibility of widespread vote-by-mail fraud with respect to his own re-election bid in November.

Ballots were mailed to the president and First Lady Melania Trump at the Mar-a-Lago resort, which Trump lists as his legal address. The first couple previously voted by mail for the presidential preference primary in March, according to records.

In Miami-Dade County, which includes Miami and Miami Beach, voters will pick a new mayor to replace Carlos Gimenez, who is term limited.

Since the mayoral position is considered nonpartisan, the top two candidates on Tuesday will face off again in a Nov. 3 runoff election unless one candidate receives 50 percent plus one vote on Tuesday, which is unlikely.

Former Miami-Dade County Mayor Alex Penelas will take on three current and former Miami-Dade County commissioners — Esteban Bovo, Daniella Levine Cava and Xavier Suarez, a former city of Miami mayor, whose son, Francis, is the current mayor of the city. They will take on political newcomers Ludmilla Domond and Monique Nicole Barley.

Gimenez, the current Miami-Dade mayor, is vying to become the Republican nominee for Florida's 26th Congressional District against fellow Republican Omar Blanco. The winner of Tuesday's primary will take on incumbent U.S. Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell on Nov. 3.

Former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist will take on the winner of Tuesday's primary to hold onto his 13th congressional district in the November election.

There are five Republicans vying to take on Crist in the general election: George Buck, Sheila Griffin, Anna Paulina Luna, Amanda Makki and Sharon Barry Newby.

In central Florida, incumbent Ross Spano will take on fellow Republican Scott Franklin on Tuesday to defend his seat in Florida's 15th congressional district. Vying for the Democrat nomination are Alan Cohn, Adam Hattersley, Jesse Philippe and write-in candidate Kel Britvec.

Florida's 18th congressional district pits two Democrats — Pam Keith and Oz Vazquez — against each other to take on incumbent Republican Brian Mast in November.

Incumbent Republican Francis Rooney has chosen not to seek re-election to his 19th congressional district seat in November. But there are a a number of candidates looking to take his place, including Republicans Dane Eagle, Dr. William Figlesthaler, Byron Donalds, Heather Fitzenhagen, For Myers Mayor Randy Henderson, Dan Severson, Darren Aquino, Casey Askar and Christy McLaughlin. The Democrat primary features Cindy Banyai against David Holden . Independent Antonio Dumornay was also running for the post.

U.S. Rep. Donna Shalala of Florida's 27th congressional district will learn her Republican challenger on Tuesday night for the November election. The primary pits Juan Fiol against Raymond Molina and Maria Elvira Salazar.

Republican U.S. Rep. Ted Yoho has decided to give up his 3rd congressional district in north central Florida, opening the door to a wild Republican primary.

Fellow Republicans vying for Yoho's seat include Kat Cammack, Ryan Chamberlin, Todd Chase, Bill Engelbrecht, Joe Dallas Millado, Amy Pope Wells, Gavin Rollins, Judson Sapp, James St. George and David Theus.

On the Democrat side, Adam Christensen squares off against Phillip Dodds and Tom Wells.

The following documents are listed as approved forms of picture identification for Florida voters:

• Florida driver's license
• Florida identification card issued by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles
• United States passport
• Debit or credit card
• Military identification
• Student identification
• Retirement center identification
• Neighborhood association identification
• Public assistance identification
• Veteran health identification card issued by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
• License to carry a concealed weapon or firearm
• Employee identification card issued by any branch, department, agency, or entity of the federal government, the state, a county, or a municipality

In the case of a picture identification that does not contain a signature, voters will be asked to provide an additional identification with their signature, according to Florida election officials.

Officials said no one should be turned away from the polls because they do not bring identification but their vote will be considered a provisional ballot.

Since Florida is a closed primary state, only voters who are registered members of the respective political party's candidates can vote for those candidate nominees in a primary election unless all the candidates have the same party affiliation and the winner will not face any opposition in the general election, or if the race is considered nonpartisan, such as judicial and school board offices, according to state election officials.

"Typically that would be either one of the two major political parties," state election officials said. referring to Republicans and Democrats. "But it can also include minor political parties if they have candidates for an office on the primary election ballot."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.