July 25 Update (Orlando) – Are you ready to vote?

The last day to register is 5 p.m. on Monday, August 1 for the August 30 Primary Election.

(I can hear some of you all thinking and/or saying: the Primary Election doesn’t matter. Hold up! It does and it’s really how Donald Trump became the Republican nominee for the presidency. Too many Republicans didn’t vote!)

Please beware: our Supervisor of Elections Office has extended its hours to help you to be ready on election day: The office will be open on this Saturday (July 30) from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

If you recently moved into Orange County or within the county, call or go down to the elections office to update your address so that you won’t have any problems voting (whether early, by absentee ballot or on Election Day).

If you have not selected a political party, you will not be able to vote on most of the open public offices. Solution: pick a party and register before Monday’s deadline and make sure you do some research of the candidates and issues and then vote. Google them!

Reminder: Florida is a closed primary state. If you wish to vote in a partisan primary, you must be registered with that particular party affiliation (Chapter 101.021, Florida Statutes). All registered voters, regardless of party affiliation, can vote on issues and non-partisan races.

The exception to the party affiliation requirement occurs when all the candidates in a contest are of the same party affiliation. In this case there is a Universal Primary and all qualified voters, regardless of party affiliation, can vote in this contest. (Source: Orange County Supervisor of Elections Office website)

For Orange County commission, voters will select someone to fill seats 1, 3 and 5 and there is a crowded field of candidates – four for each one of the commission seats!

Voters will also decide on just about every public office the county has: Sheriff, Clerk of Courts, Property Appraiser; Tax Collector, Supervisor of Elections, Comptroller as well as School Board members: Seats 4, 5, 6 and 7.

There are judges to select also. These are the public offices we sometimes forget about and randomly select on election day. Do your research on these judges or ask around and be a wise voter.

There is a list of all candidates and a link to a list of other candidates (state and national) on the Orange County Supervisor of Elections office website: http://www.ocfelections.com

The elections office is located at: 119 W. Kaley St., Orlando, FL 32806.

Call ahead if you need directions or have any other questions about voting in the upcoming elections: (407) 836-2070.

© Orlando Community News, 2016