What voters should know about the special election to fill Alcee Hastings’ House seat – Palm Beach Post

VIDEO: Congressman Alcee Hastings' career in Palm Beach County

from: May 22, 2019. Hastings was a civil rights lawyer, a groundbreaking political candidate and Palm Beach County's longest serving member of Congress.

Produced by Jennifer Podis / Narrated by Wayne Washington, The Palm Beach Post

The special election to fill the congressional seat left vacant by the late Rep. Alcee Hastings is upon almost a half million voters in Palm Beach and Broward counties.

The first important deadline in this election is Monday, Oct. 4.

Thats the final chance to register to vote or to change parties before the primary, which will be held Tuesday,Nov. 2. If a voter misses that registration deadline, they can still participate in the Jan. 11 general election, as long as they register to vote before Dec. 13.

Since Florida is a closed primary state, voters who belong to a certain political party can choose only the candidates belonging to that party in the primaryon Nov. 2. There are 17 candidates in all 11 Democrats, two Republicans, one Libertarian, one write-in candidate and two candidates with no party affiliation who have qualified.

The congressional district includes swaths of western Palm Beach and Broward counties, as well parts of Miramar, Fort Lauderdale, Pompano Beach, West Palm Beach and Riviera Beach.

Hastings, who had served in the U.S. House since 1993, died of pancreatic cancer in April at the age of 84. Gov. Ron DeSantis set the primary and general special election datesfor November and January, rather than the typical August-November dates, leaving constituents without representation in D.C. for months.

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Voters in this district 70% of whom reside in Broward County are heavily Democratic. Of the nearly 460,000 active District 20 voters as of Sept. 1, 282,808 were Democrats, 58,368 were Republicans and 112,433 voters did not have any party affiliation.

Early voting in Palm Beach County runs from Oct. 23 through Oct. 31. Polls open at 10 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. There are five early voting sites in Palm Beach County, where any eligible voter can cast a ballot in person.

Those sites are:

Voters can also cast a ballot in person on primary election day, Nov. 2, between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. On that day, a voter must cast a ballot at their assigned precinct.

The deadline to request a mail ballot for the primary is Oct. 23 at 5 p.m. A request can be made after this date through election day, but must be picked up in person.

Elections officials have already begun to send ballots by mail. It was not immediately clear how many ballots the Palm Beach County elections office had sent. More than 65,000 ballots had been mailed in Broward County, according to its elections office website.

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Lawmakers this year put restrictions on the times and places a voter can drop off their mail ballot. In recent elections, voters in Palm Beach County were able to place their mail ballots in drop boxes that were open 24 hours a day and constantly surveilled.

Now, voters may only drop off their ballots at early voting sites during voting hours, or during specific times at one of the four Supervisor of Elections offices in West Palm Beach, Belle Glade, Palm Beach Gardens and Delray Beach.

At the main office on Military Trail in West Palm Beach,drop boxes can accept ballots from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on the weekend days during the early voting period. On weekdays during early voting, and on Nov. 1, the hours are 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The mail ballot drop boxes will be closed on Saturdays and Sundays at the Supervisor of Elections offices in Belle Glade, Delray Beach and Palm Beach Gardens. Voters can drop off their ballots at these offices between Oct. 25 and Oct. 29 or on Nov. 1 between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m.

Voters can drop off their mail ballot at any of the four offices on Nov. 2 between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.

For more information, visit votepalmbeach.gov or call 561-656-6200.

hmorse@pbpost.com

@mannahhorse

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What voters should know about the special election to fill Alcee Hastings' House seat - Palm Beach Post