How To Vote in Miami

You can register and vote in Miami-Dade if you are a U.S. citizen, a Florida resident, and at least 18 on Election Day (you can pre-register at 16). You cannot be under a court ruling of mental incapacity with respect to voting unless your rights were restored.

Since Amendment 4, most people with a felony conviction get their voting rights back automatically once they finish all terms of the sentence: prison or jail, probation or parole, and every fine, fee, cost and restitution the court ordered. The state counts what was in the sentencing paperwork, not later interest or collection charges. Murder and felony sexual offenses are the exception; those require the state Clemency Board.

If you are not sure whether you owe anything, the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition will check for you and can help pay it down. Call 1-877-MYVOTE-0 or visit floridarrc.com. A court can also convert what you owe into community service.

Florida asks for a current photo ID with your signature at the polls. Any of these work:

• Florida driver license or Florida ID card
• U.S. passport
• Debit or credit card with your photo
• Military ID, veteran health ID or student ID
• Retirement center, neighborhood association or public assistance ID
• Concealed weapon license
• Employee ID from any federal, state, county or city agency

If your photo ID has no signature, bring a second ID that does (a signed credit card is fine).

You still vote. Ask for a provisional ballot. It counts as long as you are eligible, in the right precinct, and the signature on the envelope matches the one on file. You have until 5 p.m. two days after the election to bring in proof if the county asks for it.

VoteRiders will help you get a free ID and the documents behind it. Call or text 866-432-8683.

The deadline is always 29 days before the election. For the November 3, 2026 general election that is Monday, October 5, 2026. Moved, changed your name, or want to switch parties? Same deadline.

RegisterToVoteFlorida.gov takes about five minutes if you have a Florida driver license or ID number and the last four of your Social.

Pick up the paper form (DS-DE 39) at any library, the Tax Collector, or the Elections office at 2700 NW 87th Avenue in Doral, or the downtown branch in the lobby of the Stephen P. Clark Center, 111 NW 1st Street. Mail it or drop it off by October 5.

Registrations get flagged for old addresses and returned mail more often than people think. The lookup takes thirty seconds and also shows your precinct and sample ballot.

Florida runs closed primaries: only registered Democrats vote in the Democratic primary, only Republicans in the Republican one. No party affiliation means you sit out both, except for nonpartisan races (judges, school board) and any race where every candidate is from one party and the winner faces no one in November.

The 2026 primary already happened on August 18. The next one is August 2028, and the party you are registered with 29 days before it is the ballot you get. November 3 is the general election: everyone votes, no matter their party.

Monday, October 19 through Sunday, November 1, 2026, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day, at 28 sites across Miami-Dade. During early voting you can use any site, not just the one near your house. Lines are shortest on weekday mornings in the first week.

Tuesday, November 3, 2026, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. You must go to your assigned precinct. If you are in line at 7 p.m., stay in line; you get to vote.

Anyone can request a mail ballot; no excuse needed. Ask by 5 p.m. Thursday, October 22. The ballot has to be in the Elections office by 7 p.m. on Election Day; a postmark does not count. Return it by mail, at the Doral or downtown offices, or in a secure intake box at any early voting site during early voting hours. Sign the envelope: a missing or mismatched signature can be fixed with a cure form until 5 p.m. two days after the election.

Dates change every cycle. Confirm against the official calendar before you rely on one.

On Election Day you vote at the precinct assigned to your address, and precincts move between elections. Look it up, or call 311.

These are the county’s announced sites for the November 3, 2026 election, open October 19 to November 1, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. There is no site inside Overtown or Opa-locka proper; the closest are the Stephen P. Clark Center and the Caleb Center for Overtown, and North Dade Regional Library and Miami Lakes for Opa-locka.

Eight more: Coral Reef, Kendale Lakes, International Mall, North Shore, Northeast Dade-Aventura and Westchester libraries, the FIU Student Academic Success Center, and the Rebeca Sosa Multipurpose Facility.

Every polling place has accessible voting equipment with audio and large print, and you can bring someone to help you or ask a poll worker. Florida does not guarantee curbside voting, so if you cannot get into the building, call the Elections special-needs line ahead of time at 305-499-8363 (TTY 305-499-8480) to arrange help or an accessible mail ballot.

Ballots differ block by block because commission, legislative and congressional lines all cut through the county. Pull yours from the lookup above. On November 3, 2026 every Miami-Dade voter decides the Governor and Cabinet, a U.S. Senate special election, their U.S. House seat, state legislators, judicial retention questions and state amendments. Depending on where you live you may also see a County Commission District 5 runoff, the School Board District 1 runoff, and city races in North Miami, Opa-locka and Miami Gardens.

Most people know the mayor and the president. The offices in between decide more of your daily life and get a fraction of the turnout. Every seat below, with the person who holds it today and what the job actually does, is on the Miami Politics page.

The Mayor (Eileen Higgins) runs the city and proposes the budget; the five-member City Commission passes the laws and adopts it. City elections are in odd years; Districts 1, 2 and 4 are up in November 2027.

The County Mayor (Daniella Levine Cava) runs a $12 billion government; 13 commissioners set the budget and land use. The county also elects a Sheriff, Clerk, Property Appraiser, Tax Collector, Supervisor of Elections, State Attorney and Public Defender, all to four-year terms.

Nine elected members set policy and the budget for Miami-Dade County Public Schools and hire the Superintendent. District 1 (Miami Gardens, Opa-locka, North Miami) is vacant and decided by a runoff on November 3.

Circuit and county judges are elected to six-year terms in nonpartisan races; appeals judges are appointed and face yes-or-no retention votes. Miami-Dade has 80 circuit and 43 county judges, too many to list here; the court’s directory names every one.

The Governor and three Cabinet officers are all on the November 3 ballot as open or contested seats. Florida senators serve four years, representatives two; your district depends on your address.

Two U.S. senators serve six-year terms; House members serve two. FL-24 covers Miami Gardens, Opa-locka, Liberty City and Little Haiti; FL-27 covers Downtown, Brickell and the Grove.

Each runs on a council-manager system: the mayor and council set policy, an appointed manager runs the city. North Miami’s mayor and Opa-locka’s open mayor’s race are both on the November 3 ballot.

• League of Women Voters of Miami-Dade — nonpartisan voter guide; VOTE411 builds a guide for your exact ballot.
• Florida Rights Restoration Coalition — eligibility checks and fines-and-fees help for returning citizens, 1-877-MYVOTE-0.
• VoteRiders — free help getting an ID, 866-432-8683.
• ACLU of Florida — know your rights at the polls.
• Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections — 2700 NW 87th Avenue, Doral; 305-499-VOTE (8683); downtown branch at 111 NW 1st Street.
• Florida Voter Assistance Hotline — 1-866-308-6739.

Five books, all at the Miami-Dade Public Library: Give Us the Ballot (Ari Berman), One Person, No Vote (Carol Anderson), The Voting Rights Act (Ansolabehere & Stewart), Bending Toward Justice (Gary May), and Vanguard (Martha S. Jones).

Verified September 2026 against the Florida Division of Elections and the Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections. Dates and names change; check the official calendar before you rely on one.