Election Day Voting Off To Relatively Smooth Start In State
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Election Day voting got off to a relatively smooth start in Florida.
Florida's Secretary of State Ken Detzner said voting stations for all of the state's 6,000 precincts opened on time and his department has heard of only minor problems.
In Escambia County, a woman fell in the parking lot while waiting to vote. She was carried inside where she cast her ballot before being taken to a hospital.
There have been some reports of not enough voting booths, not enough ballot scanners and ballot scanners malfunctioning in some precincts. Election departments were either replacing them or having voters drop their ballots in an emergency ballot box.
Detzner urged all voters to review a sample ballot before they went to their polling stations because it is rather long this year.
Click Here To View A Sample Ballot And Find Your Polling Place
Detzner said 4.5 million Floridians had already cast their ballots in early voting or in returning absentee ballots. Of those voters, 43 percent were Democrats and 39 percent were Republicans. There are nearly 12 million registered voters in Florida. Detzner predicts there could be record turn out numbers this year.
Voters who plan to vote in person on Tuesday should keep in mind these points:
Voters must vote at their assigned polling place listed on their voter information card. Any voter who is unsure of where to vote should go to the Elections Department website.
Voters must provide identification that contains both a photo and signature in order to vote. Acceptable forms of ID include driver's license (or ID card issued by a Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles), United States passport, employee badge, military or student ID card, buyer's club ID card, and retirement center or neighborhood association ID card. If the picture identification does not contain a signature, an additional identification with a signature will be required. While the Voter Information Card is not required to vote, it can help expedite the check-in process, so bringing it is always encouraged.
Voting at polling places continues until 7:00 p.m. today. In the event of lines at polling places, any eligible voter who is in line at 7:00 p.m. will be allowed to vote.
You can check out the latest election news and polling results from CBS4 and CBSMiami.com on Twitter using the hashtag #cbs4vote.
