Election Day · Tuesday, November 3, 2026
How to vote in Florida
The deadlines, early voting, mail ballots and ID rules for Florida, and what happens after the polls close. Every fact links to the Florida Division of Elections or the law it comes from. Rules change, and courts sometimes change them close to an election, so confirm anything you are relying on with the state.
Checked against official sources on October 7.
Key dates
- Register online by
Monday, October 5
29 days before the election. Online at RegisterToVoteFlorida.gov.
- Register by mail by
Monday, October 5
29 days before; the DOS page does not say whether postmark or receipt controls.
- Register in person by
Monday, October 5
- Same-day registration
No
- Early voting
Saturday, October 24 to Saturday, October 31
Mandatory period starts the 10th day before. Counties may start as early as October 19 (15th day).
- How early voting works
At least 8 and no more than 12 hours a day. Optional days and locations vary by county — check your Supervisor of Elections.
- Request a mail ballot by
Thursday, October 22
By 5 p.m. on the 12th day before the election for the ballot to be mailed. Voters can still pick up their own ballot in person through Election Day.
- Return your mail ballot by
Tuesday, November 3
Received, regardless of postmark, by the Supervisor of Elections by 7 p.m. local time on Election Day. Overseas voters get a 10-day extension for ballots postmarked or dated by Election Day.
- Election Day polling hours
7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Local time, by the customary time at the county seat.
Voting by mail
- Who can vote by mail
Any voter can vote by mail
Any voter may request a vote-by-mail ballot from the county Supervisor of Elections; requests must be renewed each election cycle.
- Drop boxes
Yes
Secure ballot intake stations at early voting sites and other authorized locations, staffed and available only during specified hours.
- Ballots arriving after Election Day
Not counted — your ballot must arrive by the deadline
Domestic ballots arriving after 7 p.m. on Election Day are not counted. Signature cures are due by 5 p.m. on November 5.
ID at the polls
- The rule
Photo ID requested
Florida asks for a current photo ID with signature; a voter without one casts a provisional ballot that the canvassing board validates by signature match (s. 101.043, 101.048).
- What to bring
Bring a current photo ID with signature — e.g. Florida driver license or ID card, passport, debit or credit card, military, student, retirement-center, neighborhood-association or public-assistance ID, VA health card, or concealed-carry license. Without one you vote a provisional ballot.
When will we know results in Florida?
How fast results come in depends mostly on when the polls close and when election officials are allowed to start on mail ballots. Totals shown on election night are unofficial until the state certifies them.
- Last polls close
7 p.m. local time (the state spans Eastern and Central time) — 8 p.m. Eastern
7 p.m. Central time in the western Panhandle.
- Mail ballots can be processed from
County canvassing boards may begin canvassing vote-by-mail ballots once public testing of tabulating equipment is complete, weeks before the election (s. 101.68(2)(a)). No fixed statewide date.
- Mail ballots can be counted from
Tabulation may begin early, but no result may be released until polls close in that county. Counties must upload early-vote and vote-by-mail results tabulated through the end of early voting, and report them within 30 minutes of polls closing — which is why Florida reports fast.
- Counties finish their count by
Monday, November 16
Official county returns due by noon on the 13th day after the election (s. 102.112). First unofficial returns by noon Nov 7; second unofficial (after machine recount) by 3 p.m. Nov 12.
- State certifies results
Tuesday, November 17
Elections Canvassing Commission certifies official returns at 9 a.m. on the 14th day (s. 102.111).
- Automatic recount
Machine recount at 0.5% or less; manual recount of over/undervotes at 0.25% or less
Ordered when a candidate or measure loses by one-half of a percent or less in the first unofficial returns (s. 102.141(7)); a manual recount follows if the second unofficial returns show one-quarter of a percent or less (s. 102.166). A candidate may waive a machine recount.
- Requested recount
No
Fla. Stat. 102.141(7) orders a machine recount when the margin is 0.5% or less, and 102.166(1) a manual recount of over/undervotes when it is 0.25% or less. No provision lets a candidate request a recount outside those margins; a candidate may only waive one in writing.
- Runoff
No runoff — the candidate with the most votes wins
No general-election runoff; plurality wins after any recount.
- Ranked-choice voting
Not used
Not used.
- Votes needed to pass a ballot measure
60% for constitutional amendments
'A proposed amendment requires at least 60% approval from voters to pass' (Fla. Const. art. XI). A 2026 proposal to lower it (SJR 1406) died in committee.
- New governor takes office
Tuesday, January 5, 2027
Fla. Const. art. IV, § 5(a): the term begins on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in January of the succeeding year; the first Monday of January 2027 is January 4, so the term begins Tuesday, January 5.
What’s on your ballot
Every contest you will vote on, from Congress to school board, with each candidate’s positions and record and the arguments for and against them.
Confirm this with the official source
Your ballot is determined by your election authority, not by us. Verify your registration, precinct, and sample ballot at Florida Division of Elections.