Byron Donalds vs. David Jolly: Florida Governor Race on Election Day, Poll Closing Times and Amendment 3

Florida is electing its first new governor in eight years today, Tuesday, Nov. 3. The main contest is between Republican Byron Donalds and Democrat David Jolly. As of early Tuesday evening, Florida’s polls had not all closed and no winner had been projected. Other candidates are also on the ballot.

When do polls close in Florida?

Polls close at 7 p.m. local time, WUFT reported. That’s 7 p.m. Eastern in most of the state and 8 p.m. Eastern in the western Panhandle, which is on Central time. Voters in line at closing time can still vote.

Official returns are posted by the Florida Division of Elections on its Election Watch site (floridaelectionwatch.gov) and by county supervisors of elections. Mail and early ballots are often reported first, so early numbers can shift.

Turnout so far

Turnout is heavy. Nearly 5.5 million of Florida’s 13.7 million voters had voted by mail or early before Tuesday, WKMG News 6 reported, citing state data. By 4 p.m., about 2 million more had voted on Election Day.

Florida Politics reported that going into the final week, Republicans and Democrats were less than half a point apart in ballots already cast. That’s far closer than the roughly 177,000-vote Republican edge at the same point in 2022, even though Republicans hold a registration lead of about 1.5 million voters.

What the candidates said on Election Day

Donalds voted with his wife, Erika, in Collier County, WKMG reported. He told WINK-TV that addressing affordability would be among his top priorities. “Honestly, it’s been a great journey. Really at peace with how we’ve conducted ourselves, how we ran this campaign,” he said. His election night party is at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel in Hollywood.

Jolly greeted voters in Pinellas County. “It’s Florida,” he said. “The numbers are against the Democratic nominee, but I think what we’re seeing is voters are about to defy history.”

Florida governor polls: what the final surveys showed

Most late polls showed Donalds ahead, often within the margin of error. Polls are not results:

• St. Pete Polls for Florida Politics (Oct. 25-27): Donalds 48%, Jolly 46%, with a margin of error of 3.2 points. The pollster found Jolly ahead among voters who had already voted and Donalds ahead among those who still planned to vote.
• University of North Florida (late October): Donalds 49%, Jolly 47%, per Florida Politics.

Florida Politics noted that the result depends a lot on turnout. When it reweighted the same responses to match the state’s party registration split, Jolly came out a point ahead.

Amendment 3 and the other ballot measures

Voters are also deciding constitutional amendments. All of them need at least 60% of the vote to pass.

Amendment 3 would raise the homestead exemption on primary homes from $50,000 to $150,000 in 2027, then to $250,000 in 2028, WUFT reported. School district property taxes would not be affected. Supporters say it would lower homeowners’ tax bills. Local governments warn it could cut the revenue they use for police, fire, roads and libraries. WKMG reported that Florida Realtors are spending $18 million to pass it.

The News4JAX ballot also lists Amendment 1 (the state’s Budget Stabilization Fund) and Amendment 2 (a property tax exemption for tangible personal property on agricultural land). Florida’s U.S. Senate special election is on the ballot too, between Republican Sen. Ashley Moody and Democrat Angie Nixon.

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