ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Primary elections went smoothly at the over 200 polling places in 250 precincts that opened their doors Tuesday, elections officials said. 

As of Wednesday morning, more than 129,000 votes, including 34,908 in person Tuesday, had been cast by registered voters to show their support for various candidates and issues. (Click here for real time numbers) That represented less than 16% of Orange County voters.

What You Need To Know

  • Election officials in Orange County say Tuesday’s primary ran smoothly with no problems

  • Over 200 polling places opened their doors in 250 precincts across Orange County 

  • Close to 40% are registered Democrats, while nearly 27% are Republicans 

  • Growth may make Orange County the fourth-largest area in the state before November

Supervisor of Orange County Elections Glen Gilzean said growth was a big factor going into Tuesday's primary election and will be again in November.

“Right now, we have 1.4 million residents," Gilzean said. "Our numbers will surpass Hillsborough, and we will become the fourth-largest supervisor of elections office in the state, right before the November election.”

More voters historically turn out for elections in November, especially in presidential election years and when highly debated issues appear on the ballot. This fall, amendments to Florida's state constitution on the legalization of marijuana and abortion rights are scheduled to appear on November's ballots.

Florida is a closed primary state, meaning only voters who are registered members of political parties may cast ballots for candidates in their party. Voters registered with no party affiliation are not eligible to vote for either Democratic or Republican candidates. 

According to the elections office, of the 816,655 registered voters, 39.98% are registered Democrats, 26.62% are Republicans and 30.46% are non-party affiliated (NPA)

To try to get out the vote Tuesday, many campaigns did what they could at the last minute by placing candidate signs near polling locations.

Brandon Robinson had a sports utility vehicle full of signs to put up before the voting began.

“These last-minute signs mean everything to everybody, just to get the word out that voting is here,” Robinson said.

Robinson, a respiratory therapist who was donating time to a non-partisan judge's race, said he believes there is no excuse for not voting.

“Because if you don’t vote, you can’t really complain. So, the time is now to go out there,” Robinson said.