Florida GOP presidential primary goes on, even with Trump clinching, no others in race

Donald Trump already has won enough convention delegates to clinch the Republican Party nomination for president, and his GOP primary challengers all have dropped out.

But Republican voters still are going to the polls in Florida on Tuesday for the GOP presidential preference primary, either to show their support for the former president or to cast a protest vote for one of his one-time challengers.

What's coming in local 2024 races: 2024 Elections: Brevard is having a big election year. Here are the races to watch.

Here's what you need to know about the primary:

Who can vote in the primary?

Only registered Republican voters can vote in the primary. There will be no Democratic presidential primary in Florida this year.

There were 190,859 registered Republican voters in Brevard as of Feb 20, which was the "book-closing day" to register to vote and be eligible to vote in this election. That's 44.9% of the total of 424,871 registered voters as of Feb. 20.

Florida is a "closed primary state," so only voters registered with a political party can vote in that party’s primary election.

Who is on the ballot?

There are seven Republican candidates on the Florida presidential primary ballot, including six who are no longer actively running.

The only active candidate on the ballot is Trump.

Also on the ballot are six former candidates no longer actively campaigning — Ryan Binkley, a business executive and pastor from Texas; former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie; Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis; former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who also was a former ambassador to the United Nations; former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson; and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.

Why are former candidates still on the ballot?

If a candidate did not submit a formal withdrawal by Dec. 12, under Florida Statute, the candidate’s name must remain on the ballot.

Why is there no Democratic primary?

Because the Florida Democratic Party provided only one candidate nominee — President Joe Biden.

When are the polls open on the presidential primary day?

Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday. On that day, voters must vote at their designated polling place, which is based on their residential address.

Because of redistricting this year for Brevard School Board districts, Brevard County Supervisor of Elections Tim Bobanic advises that voters should check their voter record to ensure there was not a change to their Election Day polling location.

For assistance, they can call 321-290-VOTE (8683), visit one of the four election offices, or use the “Registration Status” tab on VoteBrevard.gov.

What is the total cost of the presidential primary in Brevard?

Bobanic said $1.3 million was budgeted for this election.

Because he still is in the midst of the election, Bobanic said he did not have an actual final cost.

"But we have to consider a range of expenses like paper, printing charges, poll workers, temporary staff, postage, supplies for polling locations, etc.," Bobanic said.

There will be about a thousand poll workers for the primary, deployed to 89 polling places. In all, there are 162 election precincts, with some polling places handling multiple precincts.

Who pays for all this?

Bobanic said the cost for the presidential preference primary comes out of the supervisor of elections budget, which comes from Brevard County’s general fund.

What's at stake in the Florida Republican primary?

Really, nothing. There will be 125 convention delegates awarded in the Florida GOP primary.

A candidate needs to secure 1,215 delegates for the Republican Party nomination, and Trump already has clinched the nomination, with 1,273 as of Sunday.

What is the projected voter turnout percentage in Brevard?

"I am expecting a low turnout, but, as we do every election, we are prepared for all eligible voters to turn out," Bobanic said.

In 2020, total voter turnout in Brevard for Republican and Democratic presidential primaries was 34.91%.

In the 2020 Republican primary, Trump received 93.90% of the votes cast in Brevard against three relatively unknown challengers.

In the 2020 Democratic primary, there were 16 candidates on the ballot. The leading vote-getters in Brevard were Biden (60.25%) and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (24.07%).

What has been the voter turnout so far?

By noon Monday, 16,793 Republican voters have cast ballots by mail. In addition, 7.993 have voted at 10 early-voting sites throughout the county, which were open for eight days from March 9 through March 16. That represents a total turnout of 12.99% at that point.

Are there other elections on Brevard's ballot Tuesday?

Some Florida counties have municipal elections. In Palm Beach County, for example, 23 cities, towns and villages will have municipal elections on Tuesday. But Brevard does not hold municipal elections in March.

What identification should I bring to the polling place?

At your precinct, you will be asked to present a current and valid form of identification that includes a photograph and signature, such as a Florida driver license, or two separate forms which together contain this information. Legal forms of identification include:

• Florida driver license.

• Florida identification card issued by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.

• United States passport.

• Debit or credit card.

• Military identification.

• Student identification.

• Retirement center identification.

• Neighborhood association identification.

• Public assistance identification.

• Veteran health identification card (issued by the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs).

• Concealed-carry weapons license issued pursuant to Florida Statute 790.06.

• Employee identification card issued by any branch, department, agency or entity of the federal government, the state, a county or a municipality.

If you do not have proper identification with you, Florida law allows you to vote a provisional ballot.

Will there be poll watchers at the polling places?

The Republican Party is likely to have poll watchers deployed to at least some of the Brevard polling places on primary day. The local party missed the application deadline to have poll watchers at the 10 early-voting sites, but made to deadline for primary day.

Poll watchers can watch and observe the conduct of the voters and officials. But they cannot walk freely throughout the polling location, interact directly with a voter or obstruct the orderly conduct of the election. They can inform the precinct clerk if they see or hear anything that does not comply with election law, and can inform the precinct clerk if they wish to challenge a person's right to vote.

What's the deadline for submitting a vote-by-mail ballot?

A ballot must be received in the supervisor of elections offices 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Can you drop off a filled-out vote-by mail ballot?

Yes. What's now known as "secure ballot intake stations" are available during business hours in the lobby of all four administrative offices of Brevard County supervisor of elections for voters wishing to return their voted mail ballots.

These are the office locations:

• Melbourne: 1515 Sarno Road, Building A.

• Palm Bay: 450 Cogan Drive SE.

• Titusville: 400 South St., Suite 1F.

• Viera: 2725 Judge Fran Jamieson Way, Building C, Suite 105.

But they cannot be dropped off at a primary day polling place on Election Day.

If I requested a mail ballot, can I change my mind and vote in person?

Yes. Bring your mail ballot to the polls, and you will be asked to surrender it and will be issued an Election Day ballot when you check in.

Dave Berman is business editor at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Berman at dberman@floridatoday.com, on X at @bydaveberman and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/dave.berman.54

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Trump has locked up nomination, but Florida primary will proceed