The Primary Election for selecting party nominees for the General Election is held 12 weeks before the General Election. The partisan candidate receiving the highest number of votes will be nominated to run in the General Election .

Florida is a CLOSED PRIMARY state. Only voters who are registered in a party may vote for the respective party’s candidates in the primary election.

HOWEVER, ALL QUALIFIED VOTERS, regardless of party affiliation, may vote when

• all candidates for an office have the same party affiliation and the winner will have no opposition in the general election. THESE RACES ARE DECIDED IN THE PRIMARY ELECTIONS.
• the race is nonpartisan. A nonpartisan race is one where candidates are prohibited from qualifying or campaigning based upon party affiliation.   For example, judicial and school board offices. In nonpartisan races, if a candidate receives the majority of votes, THE RACE IS DECIDED IN THE PRIMARY. If no candidate receives a majority of the votes, the two candidates with the most votes in the primary will be on the ballot in the general election. 
• the ballot contains nonpartisan special districts or local referendum questions. THESE QUESTIONS ARE DECIDED IN THE PRIMARY.
  

EVEN IF YOU ARE REGISTERED AS NO PARTY AFFILIATION,
IT IS IMPORTANT TO VOTE IN THE FLORIDA PRIMARY!!

• The selection of many candidates as well as the decision about many issues are decided in the Primary.  
• Decisions that are made in the General Election in other states, are decided in the Primary in Florida.
• There are separate ballots for each party as well as a ballot for voters registered with no party affiliation (NPA).