MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. (WSVN) -– Early voting for Miami-Dade County residents kicks off today, offering voters the opportunity to cast their ballots ahead of the official election day.
From Monday, August 5, to Sunday, August 18, early voting locations will be open from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 23 convenient sites across the county. On Election Day, August 20, voters must cast their ballots at their assigned precincts.
This election cycle includes several significant races. The Miami-Dade Police Department will soon transform into the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office and allow residents to vote for the newly established sheriff’s position, a role contested by 11 Republican and four Democratic candidates.
One Democratic candidate is the current Chief of Public Safety for the county, James Reyes.
This marks the first time since 1966 that the county will elect a sheriff, a position responsible for overseeing law enforcement operations countywide.
Another key race is for Miami-Dade County Mayor. Incumbent Daniella Levine Cava, a Democrat, faces five Republican challengers and one independent contender.
The mayoral race, though officially non-partisan, is drawing considerable attention.
“So I’ve proven myself in the almost four years that I am in office,” said Levine Cava.
One candidate proves to be her fierce opponent: Miami Lakes Mayor Manny Cid.
“Miami Lakes is that beacon that’s really translatable throughout Miami-Dade County,” said Cid.
Both seek the same office but differ on critical issues. One of those issues is the housing crisis.
Cid described his view on the issue in a recent interview with 7News.
“Look, one thing I do with housing is move away from the affordable housing model that keeps people down, where they tell folks ‘Hey, you’re going to rent for the rest of your life and we’re going to move towards a model of ownership where we’re going to offer loans a lot lower than what’s being offered now. Maybe at one or two percent. Where instead of using all that money to give to developers, we’re going to give it to those working families. Say ‘Hey, here’s $15,000 so you can pay for your down payment for your first home,” he said.
Levine Cava said her administration has focused on the issue since day one.
“We face an unaffordability crisis. We’ve been extremely aggressive about building new houses, preventing eviction, helping to keep people where they are, but the truth of the matter is that we are one of the most expensive housing markets in the entire country. As people moved here with more money, they drove up those prices. So we just have to increase the supply and we have to help people navigate,” said Levine Cava.
Another issue is infrastructure.
“We have the largest, not only infrastructure program that we just developed with drainage, but we have the largest road program already fully funded. So that next mayor, when he comes in, he’s going to be enjoying life, cutting ribbons, breaking ground on projects that we had already planned for,” said Cid.
“Infrastructure is critical. you know we have old buildings, we have old bridges, old roads and we have been able to invest through federal dollars, state dollars, extremely successful in drawing down dollars to help up plan for the future,” said Levine Cava.
Both of them said safety is a top priority.
“We are considered one of the safest places in the entire country. We’ve taken 3,000 illegal guns off the street, we have put young people to work that were at risk for maybe going the wrong way, 1500 young people,” said Levine Cava.
“Having a safe community, we’re invested in police and we lowered property taxes for folks So i’d be more than happy to help out every single community throughout Miami-Dade County because I think the model of administration is definitely translatable everywhere throughout the county,” said Cid.
Levine Cava said voters should choose her because she has bipartisan endorsements.
“I have 75% of the mayors, bipartisan, have supported me and almost 100 elected officials and I know that the public has been telling me they have been very happy with my performance,” said Levine Cava.
Cid, who is also a small business owner, said voters should choose him because his resume is unmatched.
“I would be the first mayor who has public sector experience. I have seven years in the state legislature, 12 years here down in Miami Lakes, 19 years of public administrative experience,” said Cid.
If no candidate gets 50% +one in the Aug. 20 primary, then the top two vote-getters will head to a runoff in November.
There are also a handful of school board seats that are up for grabs, a coveted position that has now become increasingly more political in recent years.
Statewide, the U.S. Senate race is also a focal point, with incumbent Senator Rick Scott seeking re-election against two Republican challengers. The Democratic primary is crowded with five candidates, alongside five independent contenders.
Florida is a closed primary state, which means voters registered with a political party may only vote in their respective party’s primary election.
“You must be a registered member of a specific political party in order to vote in that party’s partisan races,” said Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections, Christina White. “This election is for everybody. There are multiple non-partisan races on this ballot. For instance, the county mayor. That’s a county-wide seat non-partisan race.”
Voters are encouraged to review their sample ballots and research the candidates and issues ahead of time.
“I always tell voters that you should not be looking at your ballot for the very first time when you’re in the privacy booth. You should be doing your research, getting educated on the candidates and questions,” said White.
Early voting locations, such as the Coral Gables Branch Library, Florida International University, and the John F. Kennedy Library, are equipped with secure ballot intake stations for those who prefer to drop off their vote-by-mail ballots.
For more information on early voting locations and hours visit the Miami-Dade County Elections Department website.
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