Early voting is set to start across South Florida for the general election, with high-profile races and major choices on the ballot for voters.
According to Vote.org tracking data, a higher than normal interest in Florida’s elections has been seen compared to the 2025 midterm election.
“In Florida right now, we’re seeing numbers that are way past the last midterm election,” said Andrea Hailey, CEO of Vote.org. “In Florida this year at Vote.org, we have seen a huge increase in the number of people that are coming to the site to verify that they’re registered and to register to vote.”
One of the two major state-wide races involves the Florida’s governor’s race between gubernatorial candidates Byron Donalds and David Jolly.
While Donalds hopes to keep the seat in the hands of the Republican Party, Jolly plans to flip the seat for the first time in over 30 years.
“We have rejected socialism. We’ve rejected the Democrat Party. We’ll do it again this November.” said Donalds.
“Two years ago, four years ago, voters were not asking for new leadership, in Florida, but this cycle they are begging for new leadership,” said Jolly.
The other major state-wide race is to determine who will finish the term of the U.S. Senator of Florida, which was previously held by now Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who had resigned to take the position of Secretary of State in 2025.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis appointed Ashley Moody to fill the vacancy, but Democratic Senate candidate Angie Nixon is now running against her and hopes to serve out the term until 2029.
“We need to make sure that these politicians in Washington are not longer beholden to these big corporations, these billionaires, and special interests groups,” said Nixon.
“Every single day I am fighting for your families and for this country,” said Moody.
Other races include the battle for Florida’s 25th Congressional District seat, between U.S. Rep. Jared Moskowitz and former Boca Raton Mayor Scott Singer.
“I go after the left, I go after the right, I fight Republicans, I fight my own party, I represent the people of the district,” said Moskowitz.
“Our leaders in Washington have failed us for too long. We need local leaders with a record of results and common sense to get the job done,” said Singer.
Another race is between U.S. Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (FL-27) and Democratic candidate Elliot Rodriguez for the District 27 seat. Both were previously South Florida news anchors.
“I’m serving the community, whatever the community needs when it comes to affordability, the economy, immigration, transportation and housing,” said Salazar.
“People are hurting and they need a member of Congress who is focused on bringing some help from Washington,” said Rodriguez.
Other key issues on the ballot include Amendment 3, a property tax cut proposal. Under the proposed amendment, the homestead exemption for primary residences would increase from $50,000 currently to $150,000 in 2027. It will rise again to $250,000 in 2028 and would adjust for inflation.
School funding is also up for renewal, with Miami-Dade and Broward County having referendums that would renew a property tax to help South Florida districts to supplement funding for teacher pay, student safety, and mental health.
The future of Virginia Key would also be on the ballot, with City of Miami Referendum 3 proposing a deal with a new developer to lease 30 acres of Virginia Key for redevelopment to create a new marina.
Developers said that the bill would create new jobs, new green spaces, and would increase rent pay higher than for the current owner. However, opponents of the referendum worry that the development would harm the environment.
Early voting in Miami-Dade and Broward counties run from Oct. 19 through Nov. 1. Early voting for Monroe County runs until Oct. 31st.
