A Guide to Florida Primary Election Day in Palm Beach County

Tuesday is election day for the primary elections in Palm Beach County and across the state.

Polls in the county are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at 377 polling stations in 799 precincts.

In a county with 862,008 registered voters, 113,984 votes had been cast by 10:30 a.m. Sunday, according to the Palm Beach County Elections Officer’s website. Of those, 87,827 votes – or 77% – were cast by mail. Voter turnout was 13.2%, according to the Elections Office.

On Election Day, you must vote at the polling place assigned to your precinct. If you are unsure, you can find your precinct and polling place on your voter information card. Or you can find your precinct online at votepalmbeach.gov/Voters/Precinct-Finder.

If you filled out a mail-in ballot, you can drop it off in person at an election office. However, for it to count, the envelope containing the ballot must contain your signature and be received by Election Day. Branch offices will accept ballots until 5:00 p.m. Tuesday at one of the four county election office locations:

Primarily Head of the Election Office: 4301 Cherry Road, West Palm Beach.
Northern District Branch: 3188 PGA Blvd., Room 2401, Palm Beach Gardens.
Southern District Branch: 345 S. Congress Ave., Room 103, Delray Beach.
West County Branch: 2976 State Road 15, second floor, Belle Glade.

The main office will accept them until 7 p.m. Mail-in ballots cannot be delivered to polling stations. A voter can cast their vote at their assigned polling station between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. on Tuesday.

The election will primarily involve Democratic and Republican voters contesting seats on the County Commission, the Port of Palm Beach, sheriff, district attorney, public defender, and the state legislature and Congress. However, the ballot will also include a judicial race and races for two school board seats that are open to all voters regardless of party affiliation.

Also on the ballot is a single district question asking voters whether to continue a tax break program for new or expanding businesses.

The elections office also has an online tool that allows voters to track their mail-in ballots, from “request” to “count.” Sorting and counting of ballots began in July, but results will not be released until Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Here is a summary of the races on the primary ballot:

US Senate

GOP: Rick Scott (incumbent), John Columbus, Keith Gross
DEMS: Stanley Campbell, Rod Joseph, Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, Brian Rush

Prosecutor

RACE FOR STATE CLAIM: Meet the candidates for Palm Beach County District Attorney

GOP: Sam Stern, Forrest Freedman
DEMS: Alexcia Cox, Craig Williams, Rolando Silva, Gregg Lerman

Public defender

PUBLIC DEFENDER RACE: Two are competing to replace Palm Beach County Public Defender Carey Haughwout

DEMS: Daniel Eisinger, Adam Frankel (winner replaces Carey Haughwout, who retires after 24 years)

Palm Beach County Commission, District 7

COMMISSION RACES: One seat will be contested between two Democrats

DEMS: Bobby Powell, Richard Ryles
The winner will face Leonard Serratore (GOP) in November

sheriff

SHERIFF RACE: Contested primaries for Democrats and Republicans

GOP: Mike Gauger, Lauro Diaz
DEMS: Ric Bradshaw (incumbent), Alex Freeman

School Board District 1 – North County

SCHOOL BOARD ELECTION: Who is running for school board in Jupiter? A look at the candidates and their finances

Matt Lane, Page Lewis, Francesca Wernisch

School Board District 5 – South County

SCHOOL BOARD ELECTION: Race for school board in Boca: Barbieri’s support is intended to hinder the daughter of the former school principal

Gloria Branch, Mindy Koch, Mike Letsky, Suzanne Page, Charman Postel

Port of Palm Beach, Group 2

PALM BEACH HARBOR RACING: What candidates say about the expansion of cruise shipping

DEM: Varisa Dass, Kelly Fleury, Jeffery Jackson
The winner will face Ted Sarandis (GOP) in November

Seat of the District Judge of Group 2

AREA CODE FOR DISTRICT JUDGES: Three lawyers are running for the position of district judge to replace retiring Ted Booras

Lourdes Casanova, Douglas Leifert, Jean Marie Middleton (winner replaces Ted Booras, who is retiring)

State House, District 89

Race for the State House: One Democrat and one Republican in the August 20 primary for the state House of Representatives constituencies

DEMS: Destinie Baker Sutton, Debra Tendrich
The winner will face Daniel Zapata (GOP) in November

State House, District 94

GOP: Christian Acosta, Anthony Aguirre, Jon Carter, Gabrielle Fox, Meg Weinberger
The winner will face Democrat Rachelle Litt in November

U.S. House of Representatives, District 21

GOP: Brian Mast (incumbent), Rick Wiles
The winner will face Democrat Thomas Witkop in November

U.S. House of Representatives, District 22

US HOUSE ELECTIONS: Three GOP primaries in Palm Beach County

GOP: Deborah Adeimy, Dan Franzese, Andrew Gutmann
The winner will face incumbent Democrat Lois Frankel in November

U.S. House of Representatives, District 23

GOP: Gary Brave, Darlene Cerezo Swaffar, Joe Kaufman, Carla Spalding, Joe Thelusca, Robert Weinroth
The winner will face incumbent Democrat Jared Moskowitz in November

What is the only question on the Palm Beach County primary election ballot?

Should new companies and the expansion of existing companies continue to be exempt from property tax as part of economic development?

THE DISTRICT QUESTION: County voters decide whether to continue the tax relief program for new, expanding businesses

The program currently provides tax relief to businesses that expand or relocate to Palm Beach County. It is designed to be an additional economic development incentive tool and help businesses create new full-time jobs in Palm Beach County.

The vote takes place every ten years and ends on August 31, 2024.

James Coleman is a journalist with The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. Reach him at [email protected] and follow him on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @JimColeman11. Support our journalism. Subscribe today.