ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Early voting has come to an end across Florida for the 2018 general election.
Hillsborough, Pinellas and Polk Counties offered early voting through the end of day Sunday, Nov. 4. Registered voters in those counties were able to visit the closest site nearest them to cast a ballot.
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Voting locations are listed on each of the counties' websites:
The Florida Division of Elections shows Democrats have an edge in the early vote with 1,025,395 voters visiting the ballot box versus 988,562 Republican voters. Republicans hold the edge in voting by mail, but there remain more Democratic vote-by-mail ballots that have not been returned.
But 10News political analyst Susan MacManus says don't get too caught up in the breakdown between Republicans and Democrats because the wildcard is the no party affiliate voter, or NPAs.
NPAs make up 28 percent of Florida's registered voters, according to MacManus, of which 19 percent voted early.
"A lot of these NPAs are younger voters, which is why Democrats feel that just looking at the party vote itself is a little bit undercounting their strong points in this state," she said. "Over half these NPAs are younger voters and they're counting on the fact the younger voters lean more Democratic."
Numerous statewide polls suggest NPAs favor Democratic candidates.
Early voting surged this weekend across the country, suggesting turnout could approach 50 percent -- levels not seen for a midterm since the 1960s, according to the Associated Press.
Statewide early voting trends also suggest a surge in young voters, a group historically notorious for low turnout in midterm cycles.
Of the 124,000 Floridians aged 18 to 29 who had voted in person at early polling stations as of Thursday, nearly a third did not vote in the presidential election in 2016, according to analysis by University of Florida political science professor Daniel Smith. About half of those new voters were newly registered.
“There are newly energized voters who sat out in 2016, or have registered since then, who are turning out. There’s no question about that,” Smith said.
In contrast, for people 65 and older who had voted early and in person, about 7 percent didn’t vote in 2016.
Voters who missed their chance to vote early can make their picks on Election Day — Tuesday, Nov. 6 from 7am-7pm. You must vote at your designated precinct.
No ballots will be accepted on Monday, Nov. 5.
Voters who cast their ballot by mail early can check to see if it's been received. All of the supervisor of election offices in the Bay area allow voters to track their ballot online.
This is important to find out if there were any issues with your ballot—like if you forgot to sign it or the signature didn't match what was on file.
Under Florida law you have the right to remedy the issue before Election Day. You must complete and return an affidavit, like this, no later than 5 p.m. on the day before the election, according to the Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections website.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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