How will President Biden dropping out impact the Nov. ballot in Florida?

POLK COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — With weeks to go before November general election ballots need to be printed, Polk County’s supervisor of elections said there is time to get the Democratic presidential nominee on the ballot.

President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential election on Sunday and swiftly endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris.

“The good news is, although it’s a short time table from the campaigning standpoint, from the election administration standpoint, there’s plenty of time as far as ballot preparation,” said Lori Edwards, Polk County Supervisor of Elections .

Edwards, who is up for re-election in November, said ballots do not get printed until after the statewide primary on August 20th.

The Democratic National Convention is Aug. 19 through Aug. 22, when the presidential nominee is expected to be decided.

“The only time we would have started to get nervous is if there was a change in August or truly, after we sent the printing file to the printer,” Edwards said. “That’s when it really could have caused not only, I wouldn’t say chaos, but I would say great expense.”

Mail-in ballots are sent out around Oct. 1, according to Edwards.

Florida Democrats did not vote in a presidential primary in 2024.

Delegates had previously pledged their support for President Biden.

As of Monday, almost all had pledged their support for Vice President Harris , according to the Florida Democratic Party.

The official nomination will happen at the DNC in August.

“I think it happened soon enough,” said Terry Coney, president of the NAACP Lakeland branch.

The NAACP does not endorse candidates, but Coney said Vice President Harris will likely invigorate a younger base of voters.

Still, he pointed out, the presidential election is not the only one happening.

“You still have campaigns going on at the local level and for most people, those are the elections that affect their lives the most,” he said.

The statewide primary is Aug. 20, which includes partisan primaries for U.S. Senate as well as non-partisan elections to school boards and other local offices.

“No Party Affiliation” voters can vote in the non-partisan elections.

The deadline to register to vote in the Aug. 20 election is July 22nd.

Early voting is Aug. 10 through Aug. 17.

The deadline to register to vote in the Nov. 5 election is Oct. 7.

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