MIAMI _ A soggy South Florida morning didn't dampen voter enthusiasm as people arrived Monday at voting centers before dawn _ in some cases lining up around the block _ to take advantage of the start of early voting in Florida.
From Miami to St. Petersburg, people began posting pictures on social media of lines growing around early voting centers even before polls opened at 7 a.m. In stormy South Florida, voters supporting either President Donald Trump or Democratic nominee Joe Biden stood in line wearing ponchos _ and masks _ and holding umbrellas.
More than 2.5 million Floridians have already voted by mail. But with Trump casting aspersions about the legitimacy of mail voting, Monday morning offered the first opportunity to vote in person for those voters who don't want to cast a mail ballot.
"I wanted to make sure that it's legit and that it counts," said Yensys Martinez, who voted for Trump about 11 a.m. at the JFK Library in Hialeah.
Just before midday, the parking lot at the Northwest Miami-Dade library was jam-packed and a line of more than 80 voters _ many sporting pro-Trump campaign paraphernalia _ wrapped around much of the building. Lines at other locations across Miami-Dade County were as long as 45 minutes throughout the morning, according to the Miami-Dade elections website.
Monday was the start of 14 consecutive days of in-person early voting from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, ending Sunday, Nov. 1. In Monroe County, where early voting also began Monday, the hours and days are slightly different: 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day until Saturday, Oct. 31.
Some Florida counties won't start early voting until Oct. 24. But in many metro areas across the state, Floridians got up early Monday to wait in socially distanced lines to cast their ballots.
At the North Shore Branch Library in Miami Beach _ where the Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections reported waits of about 45 minutes throughout the morning _ more than 60 people were already in line to vote at about 7:30 a.m. Silvia Rojas, 62, said she waited in line for about an hour to vote for Biden after arriving at the North Beach site shortly before it opened at 7 a.m.
"I'm glad that there is such a long line," said Rojas, a Democrat who said she doesn't live close by but made the drive because she expected, at worst, a short wait. "Our democracy is at stake."
A few markers on the ground outside the library instructed people to stand 6 feet apart, but there were far more voters than markers on the windy, rainy morning. Most wore masks and stood a few feet apart as they waited to enter.
Kevin Arrow, a 58-year-old Democrat, said he was voting for Biden and for Democrats down the ticket. He said he's always voted in person, and concerns about the vote-by-mail process convinced him to do so again despite the threat of COVID-19.
"I feel like this community is smart and responsible," he said.
More than 3 million people will likely vote early and in person this year in Florida before Election Day on Nov. 3. At the North Dade Regional Library in Miami Gardens early Monday, more than 100 voters waited, amid gusty weather and puddles, in a line that extended out to Northwest 183rd Street. Campaign workers pitched their candidates and waved political signs at those waiting to vote.
Sandra Lively, a 64-year-old retired certified nurse's assistant, said through a red-and-white-striped mask that she wanted to vote in person and as early as possible to make sure her vote is counted. Lively, a resident of Miami Gardens, the largest majority Black city in Florida, said she's been unhappy with Trump and will vote for Biden in part because she thinks he'll do a better job responding to the pandemic.
"He's more concerned with that than Trump," she said. "Trump acts like he doesn't care about it."
Outside the voting site at the Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections headquarters, voters waited out a downpour to cast their ballots.
In Broward County _ the most left-leaning county in Florida _ voters started lining up at early voting sites from Weston near the Everglades to Coconut Creek and Fort Lauderdale before doors opened. According to the Broward Supervisor of Elections website, 9,232 people had voted there by noon.
Steve Vancore, a Broward elections spokesman, told the Miami Herald there were "a few lines" that were "moving smoothly" Monday morning. "Everything opened on time," he said.
And much like in the August primary, those who showed up to vote in person Monday morning took precautions against COVID-19 transmission and found voting centers doing the same, even as experts say in-person voting is likely to be a relatively low-risk activity.
Poll workers were equipped with disinfectant. And masks were required to enter precincts in Miami-Dade and Broward _ though Miami-Dade officials have said they will give voters a mask if they don't have one, or else let them fill out their ballot outside.
Every early voting site is equipped with a drop box where voters can deposit their mail ballots. In Miami-Dade, the boxes will be open during early voting hours. In Broward, they'll be open around the clock. At North Shore Library, workers monitoring the site's secure drop-off box said 28 people had used that option as of 8 a.m. At the North Dade Regional Library in Miami Gardens, cars backed up from a drive-thru mail ballot drop-off line.
The start of in-person voting comes as the pandemic has prompted Americans to vote by mail in record numbers. Democrats, especially, have leaned on the method: As of Sunday, more than 2.5 million people had voted by mail in Florida. Democrats had cast 1.2 million of those mail ballots, compared to 754,000 Republicans.
But Election Day turnout will likely favor Republicans, most of whom are likely to vote in person rather than by mail.
In Hialeah, Maria Julia Perez, 63, said she voted in-person "for the security of knowing my vote will count." She voted wearing a hat, shirt and mask with Trump's name. She said the lines at the library were longer than she remembered in the past.
But the line moved quickly, with voters waiting 15 to 20 minutes to enter the library and cast their ballots. A pair of Hialeah police officers walked up and down the line, occasionally telling people to stand at a distance. An officer told the Miami Herald he was there only to ensure voters were following COVID-19 safety precautions outside.
In the parking lot a short distance from the library, a small group of Trump supporters chanted, waved flags and held signs supporting Trump and other Republican candidates, including Miami-Dade mayoral candidate Steve Bovo.
Republicans said in-person voting is the start of a GOP push.
"We are not taking our foot off the gas and I expect a surge to the finish!" Republican Party of Florida Chairman Joe Gruters said in a statement. "We are going to ride this strong red wave all the way to Election Day to ensure that Republicans up and down the ticket are elected."
Democrats reacted positively as well to the in-person turnout in the state's metropolitan areas.
"Your most enthusiastic folks are people lining up today," said Josh Mendelsohn, the CEO of Democratic tech firm Hawkfish. "I would expect that to continue."
