Early voting for Florida GOP primaries starts Saturday

Early in-person voting starts Saturday for two Republican primaries in Florida. The elections are set for April 1, with early voting taking place from March 22 to March 29. Voting sites will be open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays, and from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekends. In the Senate District 19 race, the Republican candidates are Marcie Adkins, Mark Lightner III, Debbie Mayfield, and Tim Thomas. The winner will face Democrat Vance Ahrens in the general election on June 10. This seat is currently held by Randy Fine, who is resigning to run for a congressional seat. The House District 32 candidates include Tim Cronin, Brian Hodgers, and Bob White. The winner will compete against Democrat Juan Hinojosa in June. This seat is held by Debbie Mayfield, who is resigning to pursue the Senate seat. There are nine early voting sites open to any registered Republican. Voters can also drop off mail-in ballots at these locations. Only registered Republican voters in the specific districts can participate in these primaries. The registration deadline for the primary was March 3. However, voters can register for the June 10 election until May 12. Currently, there are 179,852 registered Republicans in Senate District 19 and 64,554 in House District 32. For those who want to vote on election day, polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on April 1. Voters must go to their designated polling places on that day.