When completing the Florida Voter Registration Application Form, one of the fields is Party Affiliation. In this field, you have several options. You can choose from one of the major political parties (Florida Democratic Party or Republican Party of Florida), one of the minor political parties, you can select no party affiliation (NPA), or you can leave the field blank. If you leave this field blank on the application form, our office will register you with no party affiliation (NPA) by default. The following link will provide a list of current political parties in Florida:
Registration & Party Change Deadline
You can update your voter registration record at any time, however the registration deadline for new registrations in Florida and party changes is typically 29 days before an election. Any new registrations or party changes received during the registration book closing period will not take effect until after the election.
Primary Elections
Florida is a closed primary state, which means that in most Primary Election contests, voters can only vote for candidates in the political party with which they are registered.
For example:
- Only registered Republicans can vote in a closed Republican primary contest.
- Only registered Democrats can vote in a closed Democratic primary contest.
However, all registered voters may participate in the following contests on a primary election ballot, regardless of party affiliation:
- Universal Primary Contests (UPCs), when all candidates for an office have the same party affiliation and there is no opposition in the general election (no write-in or no party affiliation candidates have qualified). The winner is decided in the primary election.
- Nonpartisan races and ballot questions, including judicial races, school board races, special district elections, amendments, and referendums.
Some races are decided during the primary election and never appear on the general election ballot. As a result, skipping a primary election could mean missing the opportunity to vote in certain contests altogether.
General Elections
In a General Election, all registered voters in a precinct receive the same ballot and can vote for any candidate or ballot measure on that ballot.
The general election ballot includes candidates who advanced from the primary election, as well as eligible minor-party, no-party-affiliation (NPA), and write-in candidates.
If a qualified write-in candidate is running for an office, a write-in line will appear on the ballot. Write-in candidate names are not printed on the ballot, and only votes for qualified write-in candidates will be counted.