Nearly 2 million voters have cast ballots in Florida

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Nearly 2 million people have already cast ballots in Florida’s primary election, surpassing totals from previous years.

The Florida Division of Elections website reports nearly 1.86 million people voted so far, including nearly 1.2 million people mailing in ballots and nearly 659,000 voting at early voting polling places, before early voting wrapped up this weekend.

Tuesday’s election features wide-open gubernatorial primaries, Cabinet primaries and many contested congressional races.

If historic turnout patters hold among Florida’s more than 13 million registered voters, it could mean that about half cast ballots before Election Day.

More than 1.8 people voted early or by mail in the 2016 general primary, and over 2.1 million in that year’s presidential primary. More than 1.2 million did so in the 2014 mid-term primary.