Five days remain before Election Day, and Florida’s early-voting count has passed 3.5 million ballots. The latest statewide snapshot shows Republicans ahead in person, Democrats ahead in returned mail ballots, and a close overall party split. Meanwhile, a final poll finds Amendment 3 falling short of the support it needs, and trailing among respondents who say they have already voted.
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3. Early voting wraps this weekend in many counties, though some locations stay open through Monday. Voters should check their county supervisor of elections for local hours and dates.
Republicans lead in person; Democrats lead by mail
According to Florida Division of Elections figures reported by the USA Today Network and Tallahassee Democrat, 3,524,961 ballots had been cast as of the Oct. 28 report: 1,937,785 in person and 1,587,176 returned mail ballots.
Republicans led the in-person vote, with 853,315 ballots to Democrats’ 694,421. The mail picture ran the other way: Democrats had returned 685,405 ballots, compared with 561,166 for Republicans. The report also counted 845,845 requested mail ballots that had not yet been returned.
The overall party edge depends on the particular update being compared. Combining the party-by-method figures above gives Republicans 1,414,481 ballots and Democrats 1,379,826-a difference of 34,655. Tilt’s separate Oct. 28 Day 10 analysis described the Republican lead as past 50,000. The figures reflect separate reporting snapshots; the broad pattern is the same, but the exact margin varies by tally and cutoff.
South Florida accounts for more than 766,000 ballots
Across Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, 766,742 ballots had been cast through Oct. 26, according to Florida Department of State data reported by Caribbean National Weekly.
Miami-Dade counted 300,929 ballots, Broward 243,210 and Palm Beach 222,603. Combined, the three counties reported 410,521 in-person ballots and 356,221 returned mail ballots. Palm Beach was the only county where returned mail ballots outnumbered in-person early votes.
Broward’s later daily report counted 189,066 in-person early ballots through Oct. 28, according to the Broward Supervisor of Elections. That is an in-person figure for a later date, not the same measure or cutoff as the tri-county totals through Oct. 26.
For Miami-Dade, early voting is scheduled from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. through Nov. 1, according to the county’s early-voting information. Some counties offer additional voting days, so check local guidance before heading out.
Amendment 3 is below the 60% threshold
The final St. Pete Polls survey for Florida Politics put Amendment 3 support at 44%. Florida constitutional amendments need 60% approval to pass.
The sharper finding came from respondents who said they had already voted: 45% opposed the measure and 40% supported it. That is a poll result among surveyed likely voters who reported casting a ballot, not an official count of how every ballot already submitted was marked.
Amendment 3 would increase the non-school homestead exemption to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, with inflation adjustments after that. It would also lower the assessment-growth cap on non-homestead property from 10% to 5% and limit how local governments spend property-tax revenue.
DeSantis offers targeted grants as a possible backstop
Gov. Ron DeSantis said the state could support “bedroom communities” with targeted grants for critical needs if Amendment 3 passes, Florida Politics reported Oct. 28. He cited Citrus and Hernando counties and compared the idea with state support for rural, fiscally constrained communities.
The proposed assistance would depend on future state action; it is not a guaranteed replacement for local revenue. The promise adds a funding question to the amendment’s final-week debate, while the poll shows the measure well short of the passage threshold.
Miami’s public-safety bond remains a separate question
Miami voters also face Referendum 1, a proposed $450 million bond for public-safety facilities. Axios Miami’s explainer breaks the package into $305 million for a public-safety headquarters at Miami Freedom Park and $145 million for fire-station projects; the city estimates an average homeowner cost of about $9.20 a month. The Miami Herald editorial board recommended a “no” vote. For South Florida voters, that is the final-week framing: a separate local bond choice alongside the statewide amendment and a rapidly growing ballot count.
The turnout totals show who has voted and by which method; they cannot tell us how voters are weighing property costs, local services or broader regional concerns, including the future of the Everglades. That picture will continue to shift as early voting concludes and Election Day approaches.
