Cast Your Vote on August 18 Primary Elections. Your Future Depends on it!

On August 18 primary elections, Miami-Dade voters will decide who should serve as the county’s mayor, state attorney, school board members and judges, among other positions. Latino vote is crucial in Miami-Dade.

August 18 primaries are of extreme importance as they clear the way for November presidential elections. However, not only the president or congressional members affect our lives, but those that we elect for our schools, our economy, and our safety are who will impact us daily. On this day, Democrats and Republicans and non-partisans will elect candidates for a series of legislative, judicial and executive, state, county and local positions.

Florida is a closed primary state, meaning only those registered with a party may vote in that party’s primary. Both Democrats and Republicans will choose the final candidates for local, state, and federal positions in which there is more than one candidate from the same party. Elected candidates from both parties will meet at the polls on November 3.

However, many of the contests are officially non-partisan, with candidates elected without party labels. It is the case of the race for Miami-Dade’s county mayor. The incumbent Carlos Gimenez is running as a Republican to represent Florida’s 26th congressional district, and seven candidates are competing for the vacant post, including current commissioners Daniella Levine Cava, Estevan Bovo, and Xavier Suarez

Also, non-partisan positions are of extreme importance for Miami-Dade residents as they get to elect country judges, circuit judges, and school board members. Ruben Lebron, political director of the group Alianza For Progress, said local elections “can sometimes have the biggest impact on our day-to-day lives on things like whether the schools open or close, how our tax dollars are spent, and criminal justice reform.

On the other hand, and according to data provided by The New Florida Majority in Florida, there is a potential of 3.1 million Latinos who are eligible to vote. However, by mid-July, a large number of Hispanics had not yet registered to vote or were registered without party affiliation. The deadline to register to vote for the August 18 elections was July 20.

It is vital that Latinos get to cast their vote for essential local positions as mayor, county judges, commissioners, school board or community council members, and elect candidates that reflect the values of Hispanic working families, making sure these officials contribute to our communities. It is an opportunity, for instance, to shape the criminal justice system and to decide who sets policy for schools in Miami-Dade, especially critical amidst the debate over when to reopen schools during the coronavirus pandemic.

And it is precisely the Covid-19 crisis that has ignited changes for the August primary. Florida is encouraging voters to consider voting-by-mail, so If you’re registered to vote in Miami-Dade County and would like to vote by mail, you can sign up online by August 8, at 5 p.m. at the latest

In-person voting will continue to be offered, both through early voting (from August 3 to 16) and on election day, for those who prefer these voting methods. The elections department is following the Florida Department of Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines and is taking all possible precautions to keep you safe.