Florida Election Calendar: Key 2026 Dates and Deadlines

Florida’s 2026 election dates and deadlines are set: the primary is Tuesday, August 18, 2026, and the general election is Tuesday, November 3, 2026. Voter registration closes 29 days before each election, mail ballot requests are due 12 days before, and mail ballots must be physically received by 7:00 p.m. on Election Day to count.

Key 2026 Dates at a Glance

The Florida Division of Elections publishes the official calendar. These are the deadlines you need for each 2026 election.¹

Primary Election

Voter registration and party change deadline: July 20, 2026
Mail ballot request deadline: August 6, 2026, by 5:00 p.m.
Mandatory early voting: August 8–15, 2026
Election Day: August 18, 2026
Mail ballot cure deadline: August 20, 2026, by 5:00 p.m.

General Election

Voter registration deadline: October 5, 2026
Mail ballot request deadline: October 22, 2026, by 5:00 p.m.
Mandatory early voting: October 24–31, 2026
Election Day: November 3, 2026
Mail ballot cure deadline: November 5, 2026, by 5:00 p.m.

Voter Registration and Party Change Deadline

Florida’s registration books close 29 days before every election. Any application received after that cutoff is processed only for future elections and will not count for the upcoming one. If the 29th day falls on a Sunday or legal holiday, the deadline moves to the next business day.² For 2026, that puts the primary deadline at July 20 and the general election deadline at October 5.

The same 29-day cutoff applies to changing your party affiliation before a primary. Florida is a closed primary state, so in partisan races you can only vote in the primary of the party you’re registered with. A registered Democrat votes in the Democratic primary, a registered Republican in the Republican primary, and voters with no party affiliation cannot vote in either. If you plan to switch parties to vote in a different primary, you have to file the change before the books close. Party changes submitted after the deadline take effect only for the next election.

There is one exception to the closed primary rule. When every candidate in a race belongs to the same party and no one else, including any write-in candidate, has qualified for the general election, that primary becomes universal and every registered voter can vote in it regardless of party. Nonpartisan races on the primary ballot — judicial contests, school board races, and ballot referenda — are also open to all registered voters.³

Party affiliation doesn’t restrict who can vote in the general election. All registered voters participate regardless of party.

You can register or update your information at RegisterToVoteFlorida.gov, in person at your county Supervisor of Elections office, or at a tax collector or driver license office.⁴

Requesting and Returning a Mail Ballot

The deadline to request a mail ballot is 5:00 p.m. on the 12th day before the election. That’s August 6, 2026 for the primary and October 22, 2026 for the general. You can submit the request online, by phone, or in writing to your county Supervisor of Elections.⁵

A single request covers all elections through the end of the calendar year of the next regularly scheduled general election. So a request made in early 2026 covers every election through the end of 2026, and then you need to make a new one. If any ballot comes back to the Supervisor as undeliverable, your standing request is automatically canceled and you’ll have to confirm your address before another ballot is sent.⁶

The return deadline is where voters most often lose their ballots. Your completed ballot must be physically received by the Supervisor of Elections no later than 7:00 p.m. on Election Day. A postmark by Election Day is not enough. A ballot that arrives at 7:01 p.m. or later will not be counted.⁷ If timing is tight, hand-deliver.

You can return a mail ballot at a secure ballot intake station at your Supervisor’s main office, any qualifying branch office, or an early voting site. Drop boxes outside the Supervisor’s office are only accessible during early voting hours and must be monitored by an elections office employee. All drop box locations are designated at least 30 days before the election.⁸

Curing a Rejected Mail Ballot

If your mail ballot is rejected because your signature is missing or doesn’t match the one on file, the Supervisor of Elections must notify you by email, text, phone, or first-class mail. You then have until 5:00 p.m. on the second day after the election to fix the problem. For the 2026 primary, that’s August 20 by 5:00 p.m. For the general election, November 5 by 5:00 p.m.⁹

Curing means completing a Vote-by-Mail Ballot Cure Affidavit (Form DS-DE 139) and submitting a copy of acceptable ID. The form is on your county Supervisor’s website and on the Division of Elections site. Two days is a tight window, so track your ballot status online as soon as you send it back rather than waiting for a notice.¹⁰

Early Voting

Every county must offer early voting from the 10th day before the election through the 3rd day before, an eight-day window. That’s August 8–15, 2026 for the primary and October 24–31, 2026 for the general.¹¹ Individual counties can add days on either end of that window, so check your local Supervisor of Elections for exact hours and locations.

During early voting you can cast your ballot at any designated early voting site in your county. You’re not tied to your assigned precinct the way you are on Election Day. Bring a valid photo ID.¹²

Election Day Hours and ID

Polls open at 7:00 a.m. and close at 7:00 p.m. local time. If you’re in line by 7:00 p.m., you can vote no matter how long it takes to reach the front.¹³

You must present a current and valid photo ID. Florida accepts a broad list:

Florida driver license or state ID card
U.S. passport
Debit or credit card with your photo
Military ID
Student ID
Veteran health ID from the Department of Veterans Affairs
Concealed weapon or firearm license
Government employee ID from any federal, state, county, or municipal agency
Retirement center, neighborhood association, or public assistance ID

If the photo ID doesn’t include your signature, bring a second document that has your signature so the poll worker can compare it to the one on file.¹⁴ Showing up without acceptable ID doesn’t shut you out — you’ll be offered a provisional ballot.

Provisional Ballots

If your eligibility can’t be confirmed at the polls, whether your name isn’t on the rolls, your ID is challenged, or there’s another dispute, you’re entitled to cast a provisional ballot. The poll worker should explain the option and give you written information on how to check whether your ballot was counted.

After the election, the county canvassing board reviews each provisional ballot and compares your signature on the envelope to the one in your registration file. If the signature doesn’t match, you can submit a cure affidavit with supporting ID by 5:00 p.m. on the second day after the election, the same deadline as the mail ballot cure. You have the same two-day window to bring written evidence of your eligibility to the Supervisor of Elections. If the canvassing board finds by a preponderance of the evidence that you were entitled to vote, your provisional ballot is counted.¹⁵

Military and Overseas Voters

Federal law requires Florida to send ballots to active-duty service members, their families living overseas, and U.S. citizens abroad at least 45 days before any federal election. For 2026, that transmission deadline is July 4 for the primary and September 19 for the general.¹⁶¹

Overseas voters get a 10-day extension for returning ballots in the general election. Your ballot can arrive up to 10 days after Election Day as long as it’s postmarked or dated by Election Day itself. The extension covers only federal races in the general election, not every contest on the ballot.⁶

Military voters and their family members who were recently discharged, separated from the armed forces, or returned from employment outside the U.S. can register later than everyone else — up to 5:00 p.m. on the Friday before Election Day, rather than the standard 29-day cutoff.³

1
Florida Department of State. Election Dates
2
Florida Legislature. Florida Code 97.055 – Registration Books; When Closed for an Election
3
Florida Department of State Division of Elections. FAQ – Voter Registration
4
Florida Department of State Division of Elections. Register to Vote or Update Your Information
5
Florida Senate. Florida Code 101.62 – Request for Vote-by-Mail Ballots
6
Florida Department of State. Vote-by-Mail
7
Florida Senate. Florida Code 101.67 – Safekeeping of Mailed Ballots
8
Florida Legislature. Florida Code 101.6952 – Secure Ballot Intake Stations
9
Florida Legislature. Florida Code 101.68 – Canvassing of Vote-by-Mail Ballots
10
Florida Department of State. Vote-by-Mail Ballot Cure Affidavit Form DS-DE 139
11
Florida Senate. Florida Code 101.657 – Early Voting
12
Florida Department of State. Early Voting and Secure Ballot Intake Stations
13
Florida Department of State. Election Day Voting
14
Florida Legislature. Florida Code 101.043 – Identification Required at Polls
15
Florida Legislature. Florida Code 101.048 – Provisional Ballots
16
Federal Voting Assistance Program. The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) Overview