Miami-Dade voters get a two-week early-voting window starting Monday, August 3, for the August 18 primary election, with 23 sites open across the county and a Thursday, August 6, deadline to request a vote-by-mail ballot.
The practical point is simple: registered voters can use any Miami-Dade early-voting site during the early-voting period, but anyone waiting until Election Day must use their assigned precinct. Miami voters also have a local ballot question on the future of Miami Marine Stadium, while countywide voters will see races that include Miami-Dade Commission and School Board contests.
What changed Monday
Early voting runs from Monday, August 3, through Sunday, August 16, according to the Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections. The county schedule starts with 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. hours on weekdays from August 3 through August 7, shifts to 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the weekend of August 8 and 9, moves to 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. from August 10 through August 14, and returns to 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on August 15 and 16.
The 23 early-voting locations include libraries, government centers and community facilities from Aventura and Miami Beach to Homestead, Hialeah, Doral, Miami Gardens, West Kendall and South Dade. The county says each early-voting location will also have a staffed secure ballot intake station during early-voting hours.
The vote-by-mail deadline is closer
The nearer deadline is not Election Day. Miami-Dade says the final day to request a vote-by-mail ballot is Thursday, August 6. Supervisor of Elections Alina Garcia also reminded voters that vote-by-mail requests expire after every general election cycle, so voters who used mail ballots in the last presidential election may need to renew their request if they want to vote by mail again.
Mail ballots must be received by 7 p.m. on Election Day, August 18. The county says voters can return ballots by mail with no postage, at staffed intake stations at early-voting sites during early-voting hours, at the elections headquarters in Doral or at the downtown branch office.
How to make a plan
For voters choosing early voting, the most useful first check is location and timing. A site that is convenient during the first week may have different hours the next week, and the county posts early-voting information through VoteMiamiDade.gov.
For voters choosing Election Day, the key check is the assigned precinct. Miami-Dade’s early-voting rule lets voters use any county early-voting site, but that flexibility does not apply on August 18.
For voters choosing mail ballots, August 6 is the decision point. After that deadline, the safer options narrow to returning an already issued ballot on time, voting early in person, or voting at the assigned precinct on Election Day.
