WASHINGTON (AP) – The Latest on campaign 2016 (all times Eastern Standard Time):
11:30 a.m.
The latest count of absentee and early voters in Florida is showing that more than 571,000 Republicans have already cast their ballots for next week’s crucial winner-take-all primary.
Just over 1 million Floridians have cast their ballots, according to University of Florida political science professor Daniel Smith, who tracks and analyzes early voting data. So far, he says, GOP voters outnumber Democratic voters by about 109,000.
Among Republicans, said Smith, 86 percent are white and 11 percent are Hispanic. Among Democrats, 68 percent are white, 19 percent are black and 10 percent are Hispanic.
Florida is a closed primary, meaning only party members can vote in their respective primary.