By james art 
Florida Elections 2024: 6 Amendments on the Nov. 5 Ballot
Six constitutional amendments, including recreational marijuana and abortion access, will be on Florida’s ballot for the November 5, 2024 general election.
Finally, it’s decision day.
With races to decide who will control the White House and City Hall, the stakes are high. At the same time, Florida voters will determine whether access to abortion should be a constitutional right and whether recreational marijuana should be legalized.
Almost 60% of registered voters have already had their say and voted. With polling stations open between 7am and 7pm, many more will have their say on election day.
Here’s the latest:
Simon vs. Parks: Result of tight Senate District 3 race could hinge on turnout
Partisan turnout in the Senate District 3 race is deadlocked as the final day of voting begins. In the 13 counties that make up the North Florida district anchored by Tallahassee, Democrats lead Republicans in early voting and mail-in ballots 85,949 to 85,094, with nonpartisans and others registering at 31,449.
The two major parties have poured tens of millions of dollars into the race, which includes two prominent Florida State University alumni, incumbent Sen. Cory Simon, R-Tallahassee, who played on national championship and Super Bowl-winning teams, and prominent civil rights attorney Daryl Parks.
Simon flipped the seat two years ago to become the first Republican to hold it since the post-Civil War era. Democrats say Simon’s victory was helped by the 19-point re-election of Gov. Ron DeSantis in an election when voter turnout collapsed.
Parks is counting on get-out-the-ballot initiatives to expand access to abortion and marijuana to boost voter turnout and allow him to win back the seat for Democrats.
About 161,000 are registered voters who have not yet participated in the elections. More than half of them (94,801) live in the traditional Democratic stronghold of Gadsden and Leon counties
When the polls opened at 7:00 a.m. as of Tuesday morning, Democratic turnout in the district was 42.40%, Republican 42.02% and nonpartisan and other 15.5%.
All 84 polling places in Leon County opened without a hitch Tuesday morning, Leon County Elections Supervisor Mark Early said in a news release.
“We had a very smooth opening of the polls today,” Early said. “All polling stations opened on time this morning at 7am and will remain open until 7pm. I encourage every registered voter who has not yet voted to get to the polls and vote!”
On Election Day, voters must vote at their designated precinct polling place, the Elections Office said. The county has 132 divisions, although some are located in the same polling place.
Voters can find their polling place by checking their last issued voter information card. by visiting www.LeonVotes.gov and clicking on “Your Voter Information” or by calling the Elections Office at 850-606-8683 (VOTE).
Voters can still drop off their vote-by-mail ballots at the polling office — and must do so before the polls close at 7 p.m. However, it is too late to mail them and they cannot be left at polling places on Election Day.
Need to cram a little before choosing your candidates or amendments? We’ve got you covered with our guide to voters on Election Day.
Illustrated from the ballot, it gives voters an easy way to navigate the race or election measures they want to learn more about before entering the voting booth. It is also linked to all our debates with local candidates.
Click here to get started.
Leon County students are turning out in noticeably higher numbers so far, breaking previous records for early voting on campus.
On Sunday, the final day of early voting in Tuesday’s general election, Florida State University’s new student union was the busiest of all ten early voting locations in Leon County.
About 1,521 people voted on the FSU campus, edging out the Northeast Branch Library, the second-best location Sunday with 1,449 ballots cast. Another 355 people voted Sunday in the FAMU Student Union.
A total of 12,244 early votes were cast at FSU, with 2,636 votes cast at FAMU. In 2020 FSU saw 8,765 early votes while FAMU had 2,591.
Few students were around to vote early in the August primary, which saw only 375 votes cast at FSU and 145 at FAMU.
“This is the highest voter turnout we’ve ever seen on campuses,” Leon County Elections Supervisor Mark Early said.
Early voting on campus is relatively new, starting in 2018. at FSU’s Tucker Civic Center and expanding in 2020. to FAMU. This year, early voting in the FSU moved to the new student union. Leon County opened the state’s first early voting location in 1994.
Democrats outperformed Republicans on both campuses, with the GOP posting particularly dismal numbers at FAMU.
At FSU, Democrats make up about 43% of the early vote, with NPA/other voters getting almost 32% and Republicans 25%. At FAMU, Democrats make up 74% of the early vote, with NPA/other voters getting 24% and Republicans getting just 1.74%.
▶Read who FAMU and FSU voters are supporting here.
Leon County residents won’t have long to wait before they get their first — and big — batch of votes that often reflect who will ultimately win.
By the time polls opened Tuesday, about 60 percent of Leon County voters had already cast early or mail-in ballots. Until 7:30 p.m. all early votes and most mail-in ballots will be posted.
“We should have the vast majority of all our votes, I would say comfortably, by nine o’clock,” Supervisor of Elections Mark Early said. “But there will still be some sections, probably after nine o’clock.”
He said the Elections Office still had more votes to count after Tuesday night, including provisions and military ballots. Unofficial results are not due to the state until Friday.
“It’s very important to keep in mind that election night is really just a snapshot in Florida,” Early said. “It’s a very good snapshot, but in tight races things can absolutely change.”
In Leon County, voter turnout is typically between 75-78% in general elections in a presidential year.
Election day polls are now open. Officials and volunteers around town opened polls at 7 a.m. Tuesday and settled in for a long day with polls closing at 7 p.m.
Voters who vote on Election Day must do so at their polling place. You can find your polling place at www.leonvotes.gov/YourVoterinfo. You must be registered to vote and have photo identification, including a driver’s license, Florida ID, US passport, debit or credit card, military or student ID. For a complete list, visit LeonVotes.gov.