Five candidates are on Tuesday’s ballot for three Village of Key Biscayne Council seats. A competitive governor’s race and county and state ballot questions are also before voters.

Luis F. “Lucho” de la Cruz, Oscar Sardiñas, Silvia P. Tarafa, Fernando Vazquez and Claire Amerena London are on the ballot. London reversed her decision to withdraw and remains a candidate, the Biscayne Bay Beacon reported Oct. 28. Voters may select up to three candidates.

Polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. Voters must cast ballots at their assigned precinct, unlike during early voting. Anyone in line by 7 p.m. will be allowed to vote, according to Fox 13.

Early voting by the numbers

Nearly 5.2 million Floridians had cast ballots early in person or by mail as of Sunday night, Nov. 1, according to Bay News 9. That was nearly 300,000 more than at the same point in the 2022 midterm election.

In Florida’s Oct. 30 snapshot, registered Republicans accounted for 40.4% of ballots cast, Democrats 38.6%, and voters with no party affiliation or minor parties 21.1%, according to the University of Florida Election Lab. Party registration does not show how someone voted.

Miami-Dade County’s early-voting picture differed. State election data show that about 202,000 registered Democrats and nearly 189,000 Republicans had voted early in person or by mail. About 135,000 voters with no party affiliation and 10,700 voters registered with other parties also cast ballots, Axios reported Nov. 2. Party registration does not indicate how someone voted.

Governor's race within margin of error

Republican Byron Donalds leads Democrat David Jolly 48% to 46% in a St. Pete Polls survey, the Boca Raton Tribune reported Oct. 29. The poll surveyed 916 likely voters with a margin of error of 3.2 percentage points, Fox 13 reported. Another 3% favored third-party candidates, and 3% remained undecided, according to the Boca Raton Tribune.

Among poll respondents who said they had already voted, Jolly held a 20-point lead, 58% to 38%, the Boca Raton Tribune reported. Donalds led 57% to 34% among those who had not yet voted.

Jolly, a former Republican U.S. representative who switched to the Democratic Party, leads among independent voters 56% to 34% in the survey, according to the Boca Raton Tribune.

Donalds wrote on X on Nov. 1 that Jolly "won't talk about his policies because he has to raise YOUR taxes to pay for them."

More on the ballot

Key Biscayne voters will also weigh in on statewide and county races. Republican Ashley Moody faces Democrat Angie Nixon in a special election for a vacant Florida U.S. Senate seat, Fox 13 reported. Polling has shown Moody with a lead of several percentage points.

Miami-Dade County ballots include a proposal to expand the property tax exemption and a referendum on creating an independent board to set county commissioner salaries, the Islander News reported.

Vote-by-mail ballots must reach the Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections by 7 p.m. on Election Day; a postmark is not enough. Voters can return ballots at Elections Headquarters in Doral or the branch office at the Stephen P. Clark Center, but not at Election Day polling places. At their assigned precinct, voters can surrender the mail ballot and vote in person if the election board confirms it has not already been received, according to the Supervisor of Elections.