Escambia County election officials say more than a quarter of registered voters cast ballots in Tuesday’s primary election, with in-person voting on Election Day driving the strongest turnout of the three voting periods.
According to complete but unofficial results from the Escambia County Supervisor of Elections, 27.23% of the county’s 55,619 registered voters participated in the primary. More than 25,000 residents showed up at the polls on primary day alone, making Election Day turnout the single largest share of the overall vote.
How Voters Cast Their Ballots
Of the ballots counted, 25,562 voters, or 45.96% of all participants, voted in person on Election Day. Another 15,209 voters, or 27.35%, returned ballots by mail, while 14,793 voters, or 26.4%, cast ballots during the early voting period at 10 sites around the county.
The near-even split between mail, early and Election Day voting reflects a pattern seen in recent Florida election cycles, as county election offices have expanded early voting locations and mail-ballot options in the years since the pandemic prompted a surge in absentee voting.
Party Breakdown
Registration data released alongside the turnout figures shows Escambia County’s electorate remains heavily Republican. Of the voters who cast ballots, 35,521 were registered Republicans, compared with 18,134 registered Democrats. An additional 4,252 voters had no party affiliation, and 712 were registered with other parties.
Florida holds closed primaries for most partisan races, meaning voters registered with no party affiliation are generally limited to nonpartisan contests and ballot measures unless a specific race is open to all voters. The party breakdown in Tuesday’s results underscores how that closed-primary system shapes which races draw the most participation in Escambia County.
How Escambia County Compares Statewide
Escambia County’s 27.23% turnout ran ahead of the statewide average. Florida election officials reported that just over 25% of registered voters cast ballots statewide, with roughly 3.36 million votes counted out of about 13.5 million registered voters across the state.
County election officials noted that Tuesday’s numbers remain unofficial until the results are certified. Certification typically follows a canvassing period during which election officials review provisional ballots, resolve any discrepancies and finalize vote totals before results become official.