Trump and Melania Trump Vote Early in Person in Palm Beach on First Day of Florida Early Voting

President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump voted in person on Saturday at the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections building in West Palm Beach, casting their midterm ballots on the first day of early voting in Florida.

Reporters traveling with the president said the motorcade arrived at the polling location just before 4 p.m. Eastern time. The president had started the day at Trump International Golf Club. Saturday marked the opening of Florida's early voting period, which runs from October 24 through October 31, and voters across the state began casting ballots in person for the November 3 midterm elections.

A change from voting by mail

The in-person vote was a change of method for the president. Mr. Trump is registered to vote in Palm Beach County, and in recent elections he has voted by mail. He voted by mail again in March, in a Palm Beach County special election for Florida House District 87, according to Supervisor of Elections records reported by CBS12. At the same time, he has been critical of widespread mail-in voting and has pushed for stricter voting laws, including proposals to restrict mail ballots.

Earlier this week, on the campaign trail, the president said he prefers to vote on Election Day. Voting early in person let him cast his ballot at home in Palm Beach County while he campaigns in other states during the final days before the election. His Election Day plans are not yet clear. He did not answer when reporters asked this week what he will be doing on November 3.

A campaign week that ends in Georgia

The vote closed a short Florida visit. The president arrived in Palm Beach on Friday, October 23, after delivering remarks at a rally in Fort Myers for Florida Republican candidates. Senators Rick Scott and Ashley Moody were among the Florida officials at that event, and Moody tops the state's midterm ballot.

His campaign week also took him to South Carolina on Wednesday night, October 21, and to Iowa on Thursday night, October 22. After voting on Saturday, he was expected to travel to Perry, Georgia, for a rally in support of Republican Representatives Mike Collins and Rick Jackson. Ahead of that rally, Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social that Collins and Jackson are "two incredible people."

The Palm Beach Post reported that this was the president's 29th visit to the Palm Beaches in this term, and one of his shortest weekend visits. After the Georgia event, he was due to return to the White House on October 24.

What happens next

Early voting in Florida continues through October 31, and early in-person voting also opened on Saturday in states including Michigan, New York and New Jersey. The midterm elections on November 3 will decide control of Congress, along with governorships and state offices across the country. The president is traveling most days in the final stretch to hold rallies for Republican candidates.