WHAT: The upcoming January 28 Special Primary Election in Florida will determine who is on the ballot to represent Florida in Congressional Districts 1 and 6. But any voters who plan to vote by mail in this important primary election will have to submit a NEW vote-by-mail ballot request by January 16th. 

At the end of 2022, all vote-by-mail ballot requests in Florida were cancelled, as the result of a 2021 law passed by the Florida legislature that dramatically changed the rules for voting by mail. Despite nearly 2 years of effort and outreach by election officials and organizations like Common Cause, over 1.1 million Floridians who received a mail ballot in 2022 did not re-request their vote-by-mail ballot for 2024. This process is now starting over again from scratch, as all vote-by-mail ballot requests will again expire at the end of 2024, and any voters who want to continue voting by mail must submit a new mail ballot request for the 2025-2026 election cycle. 

“We — and election protection partners across the state — are working to let voters know about the need to re-request their vote-by-mail ballot and help them sign up,” said Amy Keith, executive director of Common Cause Florida. “This is a very tight turn-around. Many voters do not even realize that they have to submit a new vote-by-mail ballot request for elections in 2025, and voters in Congressional Districts 1 and 6 only have until January 16th to request if they want their ballot mailed to them for the special primary election.

“The timeline is especially tight for overseas Floridians and military voters. The turn-around time for these voters to get their ballot, fill it out, and send it back is limited. So, it’s important that overseas and military voters re-request their vote by mail ballot NOW, to ensure their ballot is mailed to them as early as possible.” said Keith. “Every election is important, and I’m urging every Floridian who is eligible to vote in the primaries for Congressional Districts 1 and 6 to cast a ballot in the special primary election.”

IMPORTANT DATES: 

• December 14, 2024: Vote-By-Mail Ballots Sent to Overseas Military and U.S. Civilians 

• Begins 45 days before an election (See § 101.62, Florida Statutes; 52 U.S.C. §§ 20301–20311, Uniformed and Overseas Citizens and Absentee Voting Act) 

• December 19, 2024: Vote-By-Mail Ballots Sent to Domestic Voters 

• Seven-day window starts 40 days and ends 33 days before an election. (See § 101.62, Florida Statutes) 

• December 30, 2024: Voter Registration & Party Change Deadline for Special Primary 

• January 18-25, 2024: Early Voting 

• Eight-day mandatory window starts 10 days before an election and ending the Saturday before election day. (See § 101.657, Florida Statutes) 

• January 28, 2025: Special Primary Election Day 

WHO: Florida voters in District 1: Which includes: Escambia, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, and a part of Walton County. And Florida voters in District 6: Flagler, Putnam, and parts of Lake, Marion, St. Johns, and Volusia. 

HOW:  

• Registered voters can re-request their vote-by-mail ballot online or by phone from their county Supervisor of Elections. But they must do so before the January 16 deadline. (Common Cause Florida recommends that overseas and military voters re-request before December 14 to ensure their ballot is sent at the earliest opportunity) Florida has “closed” primaries. Only voters registered with a political party can vote in that party’s primary elections.   

• Florida voters can go to any early voting location in the county where they live, and even if they requested a vote-by-mail ballot, they can decide to vote in person instead. If their vote-by-mail ballot never arrived, they can go vote in person instead. 

• Voters can look up early voting locations and vote-by-mail drop-off locations, dates and times through their county elections office here. 

• Voters must provide a valid photo/signature ID to vote in-person in Florida during early voting or on election day. There are 12 acceptable forms of ID, with the list available here. 

Voters who have any questions about the voting process or encounter problems can contact the nonpartisan Election Protection hotline at 866-OUR-VOTE. 

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