Florida Democrats narrowly lead GOP in early ballots

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(The Center Square) – Registered Democrats have cast 8,892 more ballots than registered Republicans in Florida, where more than 2.7 million people had voted by Monday afternoon, just over a week before Election Day, according to the latest data from the Florida Division of Elections.

The early voting numbers reflect those who have voted by mail and also the people voting in person.

Democrats have cast 1,109,679 ballots, compared with 1,100,787 cast by Republicans.

Another 506,925 ballots came from voters registered with no party affiliation and 67,723 from voters classified as “other.”

Democrats have favored voting by mail over Republicans. A total of 604,134 Democrats have voted by mail compared to 500,492 Republicans. The reverse is true for in-person voting, with 600,295 Republicans choosing to vote in person compared to 505,545 Democrats.

Taken together with the votes from people casting ballots with “no party affiliation” and “other,” over 1.4 million vote-by-mail ballots have been cast and more than 1.3 million people have voted in person.

Floridians will elect a governor, attorney general, chief financial officer and commissioner of agriculture and choose a U.S. senator in a special election. Voters will also weigh in on three constitutional amendments.

While Republicans are still favored in the governor’s race, the nonpartisan analysis group Cook Political Report changed its rating of the race earlier this month from “Likely Republican” to “Lean Republican.” It cited a “strong ticket” with former Republican U.S. Rep. David Jolly, who switched his party affiliation to Democrat last year, paired with his running mate, former Democratic U.S. Rep. Gwen Graham.

Jolly still trails Republican Rep. Byron Donalds, who is endorsed by President Trump, but Cook said Jolly’s potential appeal to independents and disaffected Republicans could make the race competitive.

Meanwhile, the special election for the U.S. Senate remains rated “Solid Republican” by Cook, with Republican Sen. Ashley Moody favored to win over Democrat Angie Nixon, who currently serves in the Florida House.

A poll released this month showed Republicans leading in all the major races. It also showed only Amendment 3 polling at or above the 60% approval threshold required to pass.

Amendment 3 would increase the homestead exemption for nonschool property taxes to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, reducing the taxable value of qualifying homes. School property taxes would not receive the increased exemption.