Deadline To Register To Vote For Primary Is July 16
BREVARD COUNTY, Florida -- The deadline to register to vote or change parties to vote in the upcoming primary elections is July 16, 2012.
It would be better for voters (if they want to) to register to vote or change parties now before they become to caught up in the Fourth of July holiday weekend.
Over the last few election cycles, many disenfranchised voters changed or registered their party affiliation to Independent or No Party Affiliation.
Brevard County is heavily dominated by the Republican Party as compared to the rest of Florida or the U.S. As a result, very often the Brevard County political candidate who wins the Republican primary becomes the presumptive winner for that respective office. So the only way a Brevard County non-party affiliated voter or other registered party voter can have a say in these Brevard County partisan elections is to register Republican.
The good news for Brevard County voters is that party change can be done from the comfort of your home without having to stand in line.
Below are the simple steps that someone can take to change their party affiliation inf Florida:
How to Change Your Name, Address, Party Affiliation, Update Your Signature, and/or Apply for a Replacement Card.
If
you have already registered to vote in Florida, but need to change your
name, address or party affiliation, update your signature, or apply for
a replacement card:
- Fill in the Voter Registration Application online. If you wish, you can print the application and write your information in with a black ballpoint pen.
- Next to box 1, make sure to check the information you with to change or update:
- Address Change If you move within a county after
you have registered to vote, please notify your Supervisor of Elections.
You may make the change in person, by phone or other electronic means
or by other signed, written notice (e.g., Florida Voter Registration
Application). You must provide your date of birth.
If you move to another Florida county, you must use the Florida Voter Registration Application to change your address. However, if you provide the information directly to your Supervisor of Elections of the county of new residence, you may make the change in person, by phone or other electronic means or by other signed, written notice (e.g., Florida Voter Registration Application). You must provide your date of birth.
Federal and State laws require you to vote in your precinct of residence. - Party Change (list of Political Parties registered in Florida). You can change your party affiliation by any signed written notice such as a voter registration application. It must include your date of birth or voter registration number.
- Name Change. If your name changes by marriage or other legal process, submit the change in a signed written notice such as a voter registration application. It must include your date of birth or voter registration number.
- Card Replacement.
- Signature Update. You must submit signature updates using the voter registration application. In order for the signature updates to be used for signature comparisons in canvassing absentee and provisional ballots, the update must be received before canvassing of absentee ballots begins. Canvassing may begin as early as 15 days before an election.
- Print the application out.
- Sign your application. The application requires an original signature because you are swearing or affirming to an oath.
- Place the application in an envelope with a first class stamp.
- Mail the application to your county Supervisor of Elections. You may also opt to mail or hand deliver the application to any Supervisor of Elections office in the state, a driver’s license office, a voter registration agency, an armed forces recruitment office, or the Division of Elections.
- If the change is made, the Supervisor of Elections will mail you an updated voter information card. Make sure all of the information on your card is correct. If you have any questions, call your Supervisor of Elections.
If the information on the application is not
true, the applicant can be convicted of a felony of the third degree and
fined up to $5,000 and/or imprisoned for up to 5 years.
Dates to Remember When Registering to Vote
Your Registration Date
For
new applicants, your registration date is the date your completed
application is postmarked or hand delivered to any Supervisor of
Elections’ office in the state, a driver’s license office, a voter
registration agency, including an armed forced recruitment office,
public library, or the Division of Elections.
When You Can Vote
You must be registered for at least 29 days
before you can vote in an election. Since Florida is a closed primary
state, only voters who are registered members of a political parties may
vote for their respective party's candidates in a primary election.
Voters without party affiliation are not eligible to vote for party
candidates in a primary election. However, a constitutional amendment
adopted in 1998 states that IF all candidates for an office have the
same party affiliation and the winner will have no opposition in the
general election, all qualified voters, regardless of party affiliation,
may vote in the primary election for that office. Party changes must be
made by the end of the 29th day before the Primary Election. If you are
not registered to vote in the political party for which the primary
election is being held, you may vote for nonpartisan candidates and
issues.
2012 Voter Registration Book Closing Dates
You can apply to
register to vote at any time. However, to vote in an election, you must
be registered in the state by the book closing date, which is normally
the 29th day before each election. The book closing dates for the 2012
election cycle are:
- July 16, 2012…………………Primary Election
- October 9, 2012………………General Election
