How do I see my official Florida sample ballot?

Use your county Supervisor of Elections website sample ballot tool and enter your full address. ZIP codes alone are approximate. The Florida Division of Elections lists every county SOE: https://dos.fl.gov/elections/contacts/supervisor-of-elections/

What ID do I need to vote in Florida?

Florida requires photo ID that meets state rules. Bring current photo identification when you vote. Confirm accepted forms of ID with your Supervisor of Elections if you are unsure.

When must a Florida vote-by-mail ballot arrive?

Under Florida rules a vote-by-mail ballot must be received by the Supervisor of Elections by Election Day (typically 7 p.m.), not merely postmarked. Confirm the local received-by time with your county.

Florida 2026 cycle · Primary Tuesday, August 18, 2026 · General Tuesday, November 3, 2026 · All 67 counties

How to vote in the Florida Primary (2026)

Q: When is the Florida primary in 2026?

The Florida Primary Election is Tuesday, August 18, 2026. The next statewide date after the primary is the November 3, 2026 general election. Early voting is typically the two weeks before Election Day (confirm exact hours with your county Supervisor of Elections).

Q: Is Florida a closed primary?

Yes. Florida generally has a closed primary for party nominations. You usually must be registered with a party to vote in that party’s primary. No Party Affiliation (NPA) voters typically vote only nonpartisan contests and any measures on their ballot, not the Republican or Democratic nomination races.

We wrote this the way we’d tell a neighbor after church — not the way a brief is filed. The Florida Primary was Tuesday, August 18, 2026. The general is Tuesday, November 3, 2026. Same state. Different paper. This is free civic information from jesusvoter.com (JesusVoter). It is not an official government ballot, and we are not calling a winner.

Candidate scores live on the interactive guide. How those numbers are built is on how we score. This page is only about how to cast a legal ballot — in August, and again in November — without mailing it too late or standing in the wrong line.

Key dates (confirm with your county)

Primary Election Day: Tuesday, August 18, 2026. Polls typically 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. local time.
Book-closing / registration deadline for this primary: July 20, 2026. Party changes for August used that same date. If you’re asking about registration now, you’re asking about November. Confirm with your Supervisor of Elections (SOE).
Early voting: typically the two weeks before Election Day. County hours and sites vary — your SOE publishes the list. That was true for August, and it will be true again for November.
Mail ballots: must be received by the SOE by Election Day under Florida rules — not merely postmarked. Confirm the local received-by time. Typically that’s 7 p.m.
Next statewide date: General Election, Tuesday, November 3, 2026. Book-closing for the general is a separate 29-day deadline. Confirm the exact date with the Division of Elections.

Florida is a closed primary

Here’s the part that still surprises people at the kitchen table. For party nominations — Governor, the U.S. Senate special, most partisan legislative and county seats — you generally have to be registered with that party to vote that primary. A Republican ballot picks Republican nominees. A Democratic ballot picks Democratic nominees. You do not get both.

If you’re registered No Party Affiliation (NPA), or with a minor party that isn’t holding that contest, you typically vote only the nonpartisan races and any measures on your style. That’s often school board, many judicial seats, and some municipal or county offices that print without a party column. NPA voters do not pick the Republican or Democratic nominee for Governor on August 18. That’s the law, not a clerk’s mistake.

Florida also has a universal primary contest exception: when every candidate for an office is from the same party, that primary can be open to all registered voters. That’s the exception, not the default. Don’t assume a race is universal. The sample ballot is the only way to know what your style includes.

Church voters who care about governor or the Senate special needed their party line set before they stood in line. Book-closing for August 18 was July 20, 2026. You vote the party (or NPA) already on your registration. We wrote a longer explainer: Florida’s closed primary for church voters.

Get the official sample ballot — full address, not ZIP

Your legal ballot is built by precinct. Precincts follow street ranges, not ZIP codes. Two houses in the same ZIP can sit in different school-board districts, county-commission districts, or even different U.S. House seats after the 2026 lines. Our ZIP box estimates your county and shows statewide races plus the local fields we’ve gathered from public sources. It’s a convenience. It is not the ballot they hand you.

To see the ballot you will actually be handed:

Open your county Supervisor of Elections site from the Division of Elections SOE directory.
Find the sample-ballot or voter-lookup tool.
Enter your full residential address as registered — street number, street name, city, ZIP.
Print or save the PDF. Note which party style you received (Republican, Democratic, or NPA / nonpartisan).

A line-by-line walkthrough is on how to read a Florida sample ballot. After you have the official list, look the names up in the values guide. Don’t reuse an August PDF in October. Names drop. New names appear. Amendments show up.

Photo ID at the polls

Florida requires current photo identification that meets state rules when you vote in person — early or on Election Day. Common accepted forms include a Florida driver license, Florida ID card, U.S. passport, and certain military or veteran IDs. If the photo ID doesn’t include your signature, you may also need a signature document. Rules can be updated. If you’re unsure, ask your SOE before you go.

If you don’t have accepted ID, they may still offer a provisional ballot. Provisionals are not counted the same night as a regular ballot; the county canvassing board reviews them. Don’t plan on a provisional as your first choice.

Early voting vs Election Day

You have three ordinary ways to vote in the 2026 cycle:

Early voting. County early-voting sites (often libraries, SOE offices, or other public buildings) are open for a window that’s typically the two weeks before Election Day. Hours are set by the county within state minimums. Lines are often shorter on weekday mornings than on the last Saturday. You still need photo ID. You vote the same ballot style you’d get on Election Day.
Election Day precinct. On August 18 — and later on November 3 — you vote at the precinct printed on your sample ballot or voter information card, not “any nearby school.” Polls are typically 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. If you’re in line by 7 p.m., you’re generally allowed to stay and vote. Bring ID. If you already returned a mail ballot, you can’t vote a second regular ballot. Ask an election worker if you need to cancel a mail ballot first.
Vote-by-mail. Request a mail ballot from your SOE if you’re not already on the mail list. Florida is not “postmark is enough.” The ballot must be received by the SOE by Election Day (typically 7 p.m.). A ballot sitting at the post office on Tuesday night is late. Mail early, use a drop box the county has designated, or deliver it in person to the SOE. Sign the return envelope; signature mismatch is a common reason a mail ballot is set aside. Follow the county’s cure process if they contact you.

Military and overseas voters have extra federal timelines. Start at the Florida Division of Elections or the Federal Voting Assistance Program — not this guide.

What is on an August primary vs the November 3 general

August 18 was mainly nominations. Republicans picked Republican nominees. Democrats picked Democratic nominees. Some cabinet races had canceled primaries because a candidate was unopposed — Attorney General is the example we already flagged — so those names may not have printed on your August style at all. Nonpartisan offices (school board, many judges, Orange County mayor) can be decided in August if someone wins a majority, or they can send the top two to a November runoff.

The November 3, 2026 general is the next statewide date. Party nominees face each other. Certified statewide amendments typically appear in November, not August. Local leftover municipal elections can sit on other dates — don’t assume every city race is August 18 or November 3. Your sample ballot is the authority.

Orange County’s open mayor’s race is the example we keep coming back to: a nonpartisan August contest that continues in November if nobody tops 50 percent. Unofficial Orange ENR: nobody did, and Russell and Messina go to November. We scored that field separately: Orange County mayor 2026. Statewide, the governor field we scored is still on file: Florida governor 2026 values. Unofficial: Donalds and Jolly are the November pair. A stamp is not a score, and it is not the certified canvass.

Step-by-step before you vote

Confirm you are registered and that the party on file is the party you expect. Start at the Florida Division of Elections or your county SOE. Official registration is also at registertovoteflorida.gov.
Pull the official sample ballot with your full address. Directory: county SOE list.
Compare scores for the names that actually appear on that style, using the Florida Values Voter Guide.
Choose early, Election Day, or mail — and if mail, plan for a received-by-Election-Day arrival, not a last-minute stamp.
Bring photo ID that meets Florida law.

ZIP tools vs official ballots

Our ZIP lookup estimates your county and shows statewide races everywhere, plus the local primary fields we have for all 67 counties from public sources such as Ballotpedia. Your real ballot is by precinct and full address. Always open your county sample ballot before you vote. If a name is on our guide but not on your style, your precinct doesn’t vote that district. If a name is on your style but thin in our guide, read the three bars and the letter (90–100 A, 80–89 B, 70–79 C, 60–69 D, 59 and under F) — see about this guide.

Frequently asked questions

When is the Florida primary in 2026?

Tuesday, August 18, 2026. The next statewide election after that date is Tuesday, November 3, 2026.

Is Florida a closed primary?

Yes for party nominations. Party registration matters. NPA voters typically do not choose the Republican or Democratic nominee in the primary. Nonpartisan contests can still appear on an NPA style.

How do I see my sample ballot?

Your county Supervisor of Elections website. Use the full residential address. Directory: dos.fl.gov SOE list.

Must a mail ballot be postmarked or received?

Received by the Supervisor of Elections by Election Day under Florida rules — not merely postmarked. Confirm the local cutoff time.

Where can I see values-based candidate scores?

On the free guide: Florida Values Voter Guide — Christian / faith policy (45), Constitution & liberty (35), and GOP alignment (20), with optional Trump, DeSantis, Musk, and MAHA callout badges. Badges are explained at callout badges explained.

Open the voter guide (ZIP lookup) >

Also read: About · How we score · Closed primary · Sample ballot · Governor 2026 values · Orange mayor