The Nov. 8 general election is approaching quickly, but the deadline to register as a voter is coming up even sooner — this week, to be exact.
Floridians must register to vote by Oct. 11 to participate in November’s election. Luckily for those late to the memo, the Alachua County Supervisor of Elections Office offers a variety of quick methods to register, including online and in-person registration.
Alachua County residents will vote in races for governor, U.S. Congress, Florida Legislature, Gainesville City Commission and Alachua County Commission. Other statewide positions like attorney general and commissioner of agriculture are also on the ballot.
Voters must be 18 or older and Florida residents to vote, but residents as young as 16 can pre-register to vote. Potential voters must provide a valid Florida driver's license or another government-issued ID card and the date it was issued, as well as their social security number in an online application form.
The form requires a full name and address in addition to the previous information listed. Once this is submitted, the Supervisor of Elections will review the application for approval. If approved, the resident is officially registered to vote.
Voters looking to change their registration from their previous residence will fill out a similar form. The only difference is simple: It asks for both a former and current address.
These forms are available to submit directly to the Supervisor of Elections website and can be downloaded as a PDF.
Voter registration forms are available at almost 130 locations across the county, including most schools and libraries. If potential voters want to apply in-person, they can access paper forms at these sites.
Potential voters can visit an extensive list of locations to turn in their registration in person, including 11 Alachua County libraries and nine other local agencies that offer voter registration. The election workers at these locations will ask for similar information as the online form.
If voters register by mail, the registration must be postmarked by the postal service by Oct. 11 for the sender to vote in the Nov 8. election.
Voters can check their registration status through the My Registration Status page on the
Supervisor of Elections website. Here, voters can update their information, confirm their precinct, view a sample ballot and verify impending election dates.
The office has spent the leadup to the general election compiling preparedness guides, Supervisor of Elections spokesperson Aaron Klein said, sending sample ballots to residents and distributing information on how to participate. With plenty of high-profile races on the ballot, Klein said he anticipates significant voter engagement come November.
“The general election brings up a great deal of interest for voters,” Klein said. “We’re very excited to give them all the information they need.”
Whether you’re changing your residence or gearing up for your first election, there are plenty of ways to participate. Get those registrations in, and we’ll see you at the ballot box.
Contact Heather at hbushman@alligator.org. Follow her on Twitter @hmb_1013.
Heather Bushman is a fourth-year journalism and political science student and the enterprise elections reporter. She previously wrote and edited for the Avenue desk and reported for WUFT News. You can usually find her writing, listening to music or writing about listening to music. Ask her about synesthesia or her album tier list sometime.
