Early Voters Staying Home In Dade Special Election
MIAMI (CBSMiami) - If the first six days of early voting in the Miami-Dade special election are any indicator, voters are far less interested in picking a new mayor than they were forcing one out of office.
In records published by the Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections, fewer than 14 thousand voters have found their way to the polls through Saturday evening.
Saturday, the first day voters would have had a full day to find time to vote, 17 of the 20 early voting polling places had fewer than 100 voters the entire day. At the Lemon City library, just 19 voters came. 20 voted at the city hall in Florida City.
In the election to recall former Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Alvarez, daily voting turnout was much higher during early voting, with about 70 thousand voters over 14 days.
Interest is a little better among voters choosing to vote by absentee ballot. To date, Miami-Dade has mailed out 113,208 absentee ballots, a process they started April 29th. As of Saturday, slightly fewer than 42 thousand had been returned, or about 37%.
Every voter in Miami-Dade county can vote on selecting a new Mayor, and on 6 proposed changes to the county's home rule Charter.
In addition, voters in the Miami-Dade's District 7 and District 13 can vote for a new county commissioner, and in House district 110, voters have the chance to select a new state representative.
Early voting continues through next Sunday at 20 locations in Miami-Dade, which you can find on our CBSMiami special election's guide, along with poll hours and links to candidate websites. Early voters can vote at the site most convenient for them, but on election day, they must vote at their assigned precinct.
