More than 51,000 people in Miami-Dade County waited in long lines Saturday and Sunday to vote early. About 54,000 people in Broward County cast their ballots and about 21,000 in Palm Beach County.
Meanwhile, many others in South Florida are still wondering where their absentee ballots are.
Legal expert Lee Rowland with the Brennan Center for Justice tells us where Floridians can track their absentee ballots online.
Early voting begins Saturday in Florida and rallies and get-out-the-vote events are planned for this weekend.
Organizers say at least 135 churches statewide will take part in the so-called "souls to the polls" bus and car caravans.
Those are aimed directly aimed at getting mostly Latino and African-American congregations to cast ballots early and usually come from Democratic organizations.
While no major flooding is expected in South Florida as a result of Hurricane Sandy, South Florida water managers are taking no chances.
The South Florida Water Management District says it started lowering drainage canal levels throughout the region days ago. In late August, record rains from Tropical Storm Isaac overtaxed Palm Beach County's canal system, leaving many neighborhoods in the western part of the county flooded for days.
Messy weather should be becoming increasingly windy weather beginning Thursday night and through tomorrow, say forecasters at the National Hurricane Center. As of 5:00 PM, Sandy remains a Category Two hurricane with 105 mile an hour winds. The storm is moving faster - 20 miles an hour to the north. Forecaster Todd Kimberlaine says the turn will keep South Florida out of the brunt of the storm. But the storm will morph some and the windfield should become even larger, so windy conditions are expected.
Big wave surfing starts when the waves reach a height of 20 feet. Florida surfers might get a rare chance to give it a try this weekend, thanks to Hurricane Sandy.
South Florida beaches are characteristically void of big, west coast waves. Visitors and residents alike can be seen swimming in the calm water, and sipping mojitos on the shore for relaxation.
Fifty years ago we came within a pushed-button of nuclear war with the Soviet Union.
Dr. Henry Mack, IV remembers it well.
The 81-year-old resident of Sunrise, Florida was one of those with a finger on that button during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Dr. Mack was an Army officer back then, commanding a Nike Missile base in Carleton, Michigan and an order away from launching a nuclear warhead. "It was probably the most challenging assignment that I had in my 20 years of service; knowing that I could be the single individual that started World War III."
Some Miami-Dade voters have had problems casting absentee ballots in person in Doral, and Miami Congressman David Rivera is accused of ethics violations.
We run down these stories and more in WLRN Miami Herald News.
All of the misconduct alleged by the commission supposedly occurred while Rivera was a state legislator. In a statement , Rivera denied the charges and accused the Ethics Commission of political motivations.
Sandy became a hurricane this morning, the 10th of this active season, as it approached Jamaica. A tropical storm watch continues in Florida from the Keys north to the Brevard-Volusia county line. South Florida is not in the cone, but it can expect wind and rain Thursday though Saturday. Here's the latest update from the National Hurricane Center.
