Across South Florida, voters hit the polls on Tuesday for primary election day.
Even before polling stations opened at 7 a.m., almost half a million South Florida voters had already cast their ballots.
As they arrived at the polls 鈥� many at the wrong location 鈥� they told 港澳天下彩issues like affordability, education and the environment were top of mind 鈥� as well as simply exercising the right to vote.
Miami-Dade
In Miami-Dade, voters flocked to the JFK library in Hialeah. Francisco Meireles, 70, had various local issues 鈥� and Cuba 鈥� on his mind as he cast his ballot.
"I'm gonna vote because I want to exercise my right to vote that I didn't have in Cuba for 40 years. The sheriff is very important to me, traffic, local buses and the airport," the longtime Hialeah resident said, in Spanish.
For Roberto Lopez, who has lived in Miami-Dade for 13 years, Miami International Airport's issues were also top of mind 鈥� and he blamed the incumbent Mayor Daniella Levine Cava.
"The airport is in a bad state. The escalators don't work. The elevators are broken. The bathrooms are out of service. There needs to be a change," the 52-year-old said, in Spanish.
"I'm gonna vote to get rid of the communists in this country. There are many communists," he added.
Quite a few voters were told to go elsewhere, because the library wasn鈥檛 their assigned polling place. That didn鈥檛 stop 77-year old Minerva Garcia, who hopped back in her car to go to her assigned precinct, because she told 港澳天下彩that she was eager to vote.
"The most important thing for me is to conserve this country by voting," she said.
Florida Keys
Affordability and the environment were two crucial issues driving Florida Keys voters to the polls.
Key Largo resident Nancy Miller, an independent voter, said that while her options were limited in Florida鈥檚 closed-party primary, she felt it was still important to cast her selections this morning.
READ MORE: Latest News: Primary Election Day in South Florida
鈥淲e have a daughter that needs housing, we鈥檙e helping her right now," Miller said.鈥淣ow she works as a graphic designer and she also does some waitressing, but 鈥� not enough.鈥�
Miller lives in the Twin Lakes area of Key Largo. It鈥檚 a chronically flooded area that just broke ground on a county-led road elevation project aiming to make the neighborhood more resilient against sea level rise.
"[Housing] is a collaborative issue that isn鈥檛 really black and white, it鈥檚 kind of grey."
Palm Beach County
Russ Hindman, a nonpartisan voter, tried to cast his vote at the Spanish River Library in Boca Raton on Tuesday morning 鈥� but it wasn't his right polling place.
That didn't deter him on his way to vote for school board elections 鈥� at his correct polling site. He says the issue is too important.
"I think it鈥檚 more important that we put money into programs at schools for education, not politics. Political issues should be between adults, not children. Just focus on education," he said. "Those other things, we don鈥檛 have time for that right now. We鈥檙e failing our kids."
Hindman also said that being a member of a democracy means accepting that things won鈥檛 always go your way.
Broward
In addition to party primaries for Senate and House seats, a contentious Sheriff's race and a majority of county school board seats were set to be decided in Broward on Tuesday. There are also county and circuit judges on the ballot.
At the Emma Lou Olson Civic Center in Pompano Beach, there was a mere trickle of voters around midday. With campaign staff sat in the shade, they dodged last-minute pamphleting by sidestepping them into the sweltering sidewalks at the front entrance.
Colleen Menegazzi told 港澳天下彩she feared some voters sat out the election, overwhelmed by the number of races 鈥� but that it was important for her to do her research.
"I think voting is one of the most important things we can ever do. No matter what. Even if I only vote for 5 candidates on the ballot and leave the rest blank, that鈥檚 ok," she said.
Menegazzi thinks that reliable information on candidates is less readily available to people than it used to be. "I did not get any mailings or literature at all. You have to almost seek out what's going on," she added.
鈥淭here are quite a few things that are important to me but one specifically is the gun laws,鈥� she said, 鈥� I don鈥檛 like how everyone is allowed to carry a gun.鈥�
Polls are open in South Florida until 7 p.m. on Tuesday. To find where and how to vote on Election Day in your county, read our guide.
