The deadline for Florida candidates to qualify for the Aug. 20 primary election passed on Friday at noon, locking in the ballot and kicking off campaign season. In just a few weeks, voters will begin receiving mail ballots and picking their preferred party candidates at the federal, state and county levels.

Here is all the information you should know about who can vote and how.

Who can vote?

For the primary election, Florida has closed elections, meaning that, in most cases, only registered voters with a political party affiliation may vote for candidates from that party. Democrats vote in Democratic primaries, Republicans vote in Republican primaries and so forth. That applies to races for Congress, the state legislature, county sheriff and other partisan offices.

That means voters registered to minor political parties or those without party affiliation are often restricted in primary elections to voting only in nonpartisan races.

There are exceptions to that rule. All registered voters can cast their ballots in a partisan race if all of the candidates for that office have the same party affiliation and the winner of the primary election will not face any opposition in the general election.

All registered voters can also vote in nonpartisan races in Miami-Dade County for county judges, school board members, county mayor, county commissioners, community council members and community development district seats. In Broward, there are also nonpartisan races for county judges, school board seats, a community improvement district seat and a community development district seat.

Deadline to register

The deadline to register to vote or to change party affiliation in Florida is Monday, July 22.

People can register to vote online at RegisterToVoteFlorida.gov. For the online application, you will need your Florida driver’s license or Florida identification card issued by the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, the issued date of any of those documents and the last four digits of your Social Security number.

You can also register in person at a Florida driver’s license office, a tax collector’s office that issues driver’s licenses or ID cards, or a voter registration agency.

If you want to register by mail or in person you can fill out the statewide voter registration application form (DS-DE 39), which is available in English and Spanish and has detailed instructions on how to submit the form and complete your registration.

Mail ballots must be received by the local supervisor of elections office no later than 7 p.m. on election night to be considered valid.

Mail voting

In Florida, elections officials are required to send mail ballots to voters that have requested them between Thursday, July 11, and Thursday, July 18.

For service members, their eligible family members and overseas citizens, vote-by-mail ballots must be in the mail by Saturday, July 6, for those who have already requested them.

Voters can still request a mail ballot even after elections supervisors send out their first batches. The deadline to request a ballot by mail in Florida is Thursday, Aug. 8.

RELATED: Why mail ballot requests have dropped off a cliff in Miami-Dade (and why it matters)

Early voting

In Miami-Dade County, early voting begins on Monday, Aug. 5, and closes on Sunday, Aug. 18. The hours for voting change depending on the day, so check the full calendar before heading out to the polls.

In Broward County, early voting runs from Saturday, Aug. 10, to Sunday, Aug. 18, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

To cast your ballot during early voting, you must bring a current and valid photo ID with a signature to the voting precinct. This could be a Florida driver’s license, a Florida identification card issued by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, a U.S. passport, or a military or school identification. For a full list of acceptable documents, review the Florida Department of State, Division of Elections website.

If your photo ID does not include your signature, you will be asked to provide another ID that includes it.

Election Day

Voting precincts around Florida open on Tuesday, Aug. 20, at 7 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. Florida’s Division of Elections has a webpage for voters who want to check their precinct.

On election date, the list of required documents to vote is the same as in early voting. Make sure to bring your current and valid photo ID with a signature.

If you don’t bring an ID that meets the requirements, you can still vote through a provisional ballot. Your vote will count as long as you are eligible, you voted in the proper precinct and your signature on the provisional ballot matches your signature in the registration record.

Your vote can be challenged if you are ineligible to vote, you don’t live in the precinct, if you already voted or for other reasons. If you are challenged at the polls, you still have the right to vote through a provisional ballot. Check the Florida Division of Elections website to learn more about provisional voting or contact your county supervisor of elections.