Election Day 2020 In Florida: Live Updates From Polling Sites

Last updated at 2:06 p.m.

FLORIDA — With 8.9 million ballots already cast in Florida and a tightening in the polls, all eyes are on the Sunshine State this Election Day to see if Florida tips the presidential results scale. Democrats are betting a boost in voter registration and questions about the handling of the coronavirus pandemic will help former Vice President Joe Biden hold on to a slim lead over President Donald Trump.

The state's 29 electoral votes are crucial for the winning candidate to reach 270 Electoral College votes.

"I voted last Wednesday, and I was in and out — 15 minutes," Billy Overcast in St. Petersburg told a Patch reporter. "I'm working the Trump booth out here today. ...We're encouraging everybody to vote. It's your right and obligation. If you don't vote, you can't complain."

A federal judge on Tuesday ordered the U.S. Postal Service to check sorting facilities, including some in South Florida, for any remaining mail-in ballots. Postal authorities must prioritize delivery of ballots, the court order said.

Judge Emmet Sullivan of the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia ordered the Postal Service to conduct the sweep by 3 p.m. ET, multiple news outlets including CNN reported.

According to his ruling, Sullivan made the order "to ensure that no ballots have been held up and that any identified ballots are immediately sent out for delivery."

As of 10 a.m. Tuesday, 34,956 voters cast their ballots at one of 390 precincts in Hillsborough County while more than 600,000 people voted by mail or voted early, said Craig Latimer, county election supervisor.

"Most of my neighbors voted by mail," said Mary Spencer as she left the Port Tampa voting precinct around 9 a.m. "I was the only person in there voting."

In neighboring Pinellas County, one of 10 so-called bellwether counties in the country, 58,884 people had cast their ballots by 12:30 p.m. on Election Day while 343,290 voted by mail and 112,301 voted early for a total turnout of 72.73 percent for the county.

Voters are headed to the polls Tuesday to make their choice in the presidential election, U.S. House and state constitutional amendments. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Election Day. If you are in line by 7 p.m., you are allowed to cast your ballot.

While poll workers reported some Election Day lines when polls opened at 7 a.m. in Tampa, turnout was much lower than anticipated. Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections Craig Latimer attributed it to the record number of residents who followed his advice to vote by mail or vote early.

Related:

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• Still Time To Vote; 35,000 People Cast Ballots Tuesday Morning
• Still Time To Vote; 72.5 Percent Turnout In Pinellas So Far

Florida is a key battleground state in this presidential election, and both candidates have campaigned hard in the Sunshine State in the final weeks leading up to Tuesday.

Hsiaowen Lee, who usually votes an absentee ballot, cast a ballot in-person for the first time on Election Day.

"I think that for this year, I feel it's more important making sure my vote counts," Lee said. "I like Biden and I've been following the politics for a bit. I lived in China for a long time, and I feel like here the voters should decide. I like his (Biden's) international policy."

Return to Patch for the latest vote tally. Subscribe to free News Alerts for election results.

The latest RealClearPolitics average of polls, released Monday, showed Biden with a 1.7 percentage point lead over Trump in Florida, 48.3 percentage points to 46.6.

At a rally in Pennsylvania on Monday, Trump said it was dangerous for states to continue counting ballots after Nov. 3, even though election law in many states gives voters several days for their ballots to arrive if they are postmarked on Election Day.

Florida election officials have been sorting and opening mail-in envelopes for weeks before Election Day. Unlike other states, Florida requires mail ballots to be received by Election Day.

All early votes and mail ballots are tabulated in advance and should be released about 7:30 p.m. ET Tuesday, said Mark Ard, communications director at the Florida Department of State.

"If the election is decisive enough, we should be able to call Florida on election night," University of Florida political scientist Michael McDonald told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

But the pace of sorting and counting all those ballots will take more time in some parts of Florida. If the election is close, it may be Wednesday or Thursday before the Florida winner is determined, NPR reported.

Latest Election Polls

A Quinnipiac poll released Monday said 47 percent of likely voters support Biden, while 42 percent support President Donald Trump.

Nationally, Biden has a double-digit lead, with 50 percent of likely voters supporting him to only 39 percent for Trump, Politico reported.

The final Emerson College poll before the election finds Trump has 45 percent support in the state, with Biden ahead at 51 percent. Two percent of voters plan to vote for someone else, and 2 percent are undecided.

The majority (51 percent) of Florida voters disapprove of the job Trump is doing, while 45 percent approve of the job he is doing, the Emerson poll said.

Voters were asked how much of a public health threat they think coronavirus is; the majority (53 percent) think it is a major threat, while 26 percent say it is a moderate threat, 14 percent think it is a minor threat, and 7 percent think it is no threat at all. The majority (82 percent) of those voting for Biden think it is a major threat, while a plurality (42 percent) of those voting for Trump think it is a moderate threat.

How to Vote

When voting in person on Election Day, voters must bring a current and valid ID with their name, photo and signature. Acceptable IDs include a Florida driver's license, a Florida ID card issued by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, a United States passport, a debit or credit card, military ID or a student ID. Find a full list of acceptable IDs here.

It's important to remember that while your voter information card has lots of useful information about your voter registration, including your assigned precinct and polling location for Election Day, it isn't an acceptable form of ID.

If you're not certain where you should vote, you can look up your voting precinct online here. For your vote to count, you must vote in the precinct in which you reside.

Vote-by-mail ballots must be received by 7 p.m. on Election Day. Though it's too late to return your vote-by-mail ballot using the U.S. Postal Service, you can still drop off your mail-in ballot at the Supervisor of Elections office in your county. Remember to sign your ballot and make sure that your signature matches the one you have on file with the elections office.

If you've requested a mail-in ballot but would rather vote in person, you still can. Simply bring your ballot (marked or unmarked) to your polling location to turn it in. Then you can vote using a regular ballot.

If you don't bring your vote-by-mail ballot with you, the Supervisor of Elections office will need to confirm that your ballot hasn't already been submitted and counted. If they determine it has been received, then you won't be able to vote again. If you think the office is incorrect or if it can't be determined if your mail-in ballot was received, you can request a provisional ballot.

Both Biden and Trump have been in the state in the past week.

Trump was in Opa-Locka on Sunday night, which violated Miami's midnight curfew. He said Democrats are worried that their purported early lead will fizzle.

Trump expressed frustration at a recent rally that the surging cases of the virus — which has killed more than 231,000 Americans so far this year — remains a top headline, which prompted chants of “Fire Fauci” from his supporters.

“Don’t tell anybody but let me wait until a little bit after the election,” Trump replied, reported NBC Miami.

The former vice president slammed the packed rally.

"This rally isn’t for Floridians; it’s to fuel his own ego, with no regard for the issues working Floridians face every day," Biden said. "The good news is the end of President Trump’s failed leadership is near. Floridians have the power to make a change through your vote."

Related:

• No Excuses; Pinellas Offers Free Bus Rides To The Polls
• HART To Offer Free Rides To Polls To Hillsborough Voters
• Deputies Say Man In Rebel Flag, Trump Mask Picked Fight At Rally
• Free Rides And Discounted Transportation To The Polls
• Chefs For The Polls Feeds St. Pete Voters For Free
• Kamala Harris Campaigns In South Florida Saturday: Rewind

This story includes reporting by Patch editors D'Ann White, Skyla Luckey and Tiffany Razzano