A tight race at the top. A late change in candidates. And historic campaign fundraising.
One may think the buzz around the 2024 presidential election would have spurred on large numbers of registered voters to cast their ballots. But none of that was on the August primary ballot for Florida voters.
Instead, the ballot was concentrated with local races and local issues. Important contests to be sure, but they spark much less voter engagement compared to a presidential choice appearing on the ballot.
READ MORE: Here are the key results from primary election day in South Florida
Four out of five eligible voters in Florida did not cast a ballot in the August primary. Turnout fell to a decade low for primary voting.
On Election Day, Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd predicted a normal turnout. "We are probably expecting it to be about 20 to 25%, which is historically about where it would be, with nothing pushing the ballot except for the local races,鈥� Byrd told WLRN's news partner News Service of Florida.
Preliminary data indicates just 22.4% of registered voters participated in the primary election season. That is the lowest turnout during a presidential election year since 2012.
"I think the people of Florida have election fatigue," said Barry University Political Science Professor Sean Foreman. "We have so many elections scheduled at different times of year. It's really confusing and it tires people out."
Heading into the August primary, Republicans had overtaken Democrats with voter registration statewide. While Democrats hold the lead in registered voters in South Florida, the statewide gains in sign-ups by Republicans is mirrored regionally.
Almost 45,000 new Republican voters registered in South Florida between January and July. Democrats lost almost 4,000 voters during the same time. Minor political parties and NPA voters grew by 31,000.
"In the time of Ron DeSantis and his two [gubernatorial] elections, the Republican Party has been very active in registering voters and making sure they get out to vote," Foreman said. "That's had an impact throughout the state, even in South Florida, in recent years. Even if Democrats hold an advantage, it's been cut into by larger numbers of Republican voters."
Florida is a closed primary state. The ballot a voter sees during a primary depends upon their political party registration about a month before Election Day. All primary voters see nonpartisan races on their ballots.
How Floridians cast their ballots has changed thanks to a new law pushed by Republicans after the 2020 presidential election. The law canceled all existing vote-by-mail requests after the 2022 election. That change required voters to make new requests if they wanted a ballot in their mailbox.
Before the law change, vote-by-mail requests were valid for two election cycles. That meant voters could go several years without having to renew their request for a ballot by mail. Those requests automatically expire in December after a general election. The result is voters have to sign-up for a vote-by-mail ballot every calendar year.
READ MORE: Some Florida counties had difficulty reporting primary election results
The change was seen largely as an effort by Republicans to erode a method of voting where Democrats had an edge in turnout.
It has worked. Almost two million Florida Democrats requested vote-by-mail ballots for the 2020 primary election. Barely half that number asked for their ballots that way for this primary. Republicans also saw a steep drop-off in vote-by-mail requests compared to four years ago, though smaller than the fall-off for Democrats.
Democrats maintained a slight edge over Republicans with vote-by-mail voters in the August primary.
More voters showed up at the polls before Election Day this year. The number of early voters increased by about 100,000 statewide, driven entirely by more Republicans taking advantage of early voting days.
Florida voters have shown little interest in casting ballots in this election cycle thus far. Much of that disinterest may be due to what had been a foregone conclusion to the presidential candidates prior to July.
The Florida Democratic Party canceled its March presidential preference primary after President Joe Biden was the sole qualifying candidate. Republicans held their primary, overwhelmingly voting for former President Donald Trump. However, barely one out of five eligible GOP voters turned out. Four years ago, one in three Florida voters registered as a Republican or Democrat took part in the presidential primary.
