15 things you should know about your vote-by-mail ballot (2024)

More than 41% of the 451,656 registered voters inBrevard County have requested and been sent vote-by-mail ballots from the supervisor of elections office forthe Nov. 3 election.

Of the 186,737 vote-by-mail ballots requested, 46,291 completed ballots have been received by thesupervisor of elections officeas Monday morning.

Ballots started coming in Sept. 17, with the peak day so far being Oct. 6, when 13,016 ballots were received.

But some voters have questions about the ballots and how to submit them. So here are answers to 15 questions you may have about the vote-by-mail ballot:

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How much does it cost to mail in your vote-by-mail ballot?

Because of the long ballot this year, the vote-by-mail ballot with the envelope weighs more than 1 ounce. So the postage is 70 cents (one regular first-class mail stamp that now costs 55 cents and one "additional ounce stamp" that now costs 15 cents).

Kimberly Boelzner, communications director for theBrevard County Supervisor of Elections Office, said the U.S. Postal Service still will deliver a vote-by-mail ballotback to the supervisor of elections office if it doesn't have the required postage.

"It'll still get to us" without the required postage, Boelzner said. "We'll get billed" for the insufficient postage— a cost thattaxpayers ultimately will pick up.

15 things you should know about your vote-by-mail ballot (1)

What is the deadline for the supervisor of election's office receiving a completed ballot?

It's the same time polls close on Election Day — 7 p.m. Nov. 3.

If it doesn't get there by then, the ballot won't be counted.

How early should you mail back your ballot?

The U.S. Postal Service recommends that the ballots be mailed back at least eight days before the election to assure they get there on time.

Are there other ways to cast your mail ballot?

There are three ways:

You can drop it off at one of the four supervisor of elections administrative offices during regular business hours.

The Supervisor of Elections offices are at these locations:

  • Melbourne:1515 Sarno Road.
  • Palm Bay: 450 Cogan Drive SE.
  • Titusville: 400 South St., Room 1F.
  • Viera: 2725 Judge Fran Jamieson Way, Building C, First Floor.

You can drop it in a secure drop box outside one of these offices at any time.

Boelzner said more than one-third of Brevard voters who cast vote-by-mail ballots so far have used this method, which was first introduced locally in the March 17 presidential preference primary.

That's a sign that some voters are more confident in dropping off their completed ballots, rather than sending it through the U.S. Postal Service.

You can submit it at any of Brevard's 10 in-person early-voting sites during the early-voting period from Oct. 19 through Oct. 31. Those early-voting sites will be open from8 a.m. to 6p.m. weekdays and from8a.m. to 4p.m. weekends.

Check votebrevard.com for early-voting site locations.

Is there a way to track the status of my mail ballot?

Yes. Voters can track the status of their mail ballot by going to www.VoteBrevard.com/VoterLookup

There, they can look up the day the supervisor of elections office receive the voter's request for aballot; the day it was mailed to them; and the day their voted mail ballot is received back in the election office.

On that site, voters also can review and update their voter registration information;request a mail ballot; find where their designated polling place is if they want to vote in person on Election Day; see a sample ballots; and see their voting activity for the past 12 months.

When is the last day to request a mail ballot?

The deadline for a voter to request a mail ballot be sent to them for the Nov. 3 election is 5 p.m. Oct. 24.

Any registered voter in Brevard County may request a mail ballot. Requests for mail ballots may be submitted for single or multiple elections, or for all elections through the next two regularly scheduled general elections.

Do you need a specific reason to request a mail ballot?

No. The Florida Legislature made "no-excuse" voting by mail available to all voters in 2002. The term "absentee ballot" was changed to "vote-by-mail ballot" in 2016 by the Florida Legislature.

Have there been any issues with the mail ballots so far?

Boelzner said one issue that has come up is many of the ballots were mailed out to voters on a rainy, humid day.

That resulted in some of the envelopes in the mailing that voters are supposed to use to return their ballot to the supervisor of elections office already being sealed shut because of the moisture before voters were able to use them.

If voters have this issue, they can call the supervisor of elections office at 321-633-2127 for details on how to get another envelope.

What happens if a voter forgot to sign his or her mail ballot certificate envelope?

Voters are required to sign the certificate on their certificate envelope, and their mail ballot must be returned in this envelope once it is signed. The signature on the certificate envelope must match the signature on the person's voter registration record, or the ballot will not be counted.

If you returned your mail ballot to the elections office without signing your certificate envelope, you have the option to submit an "instructions and form for vote-by-mail ballot cure affidavit DS-DE 139" to the elections office. Failure to do so can result in your ballot not being counted.

Completed affidavits and the accompanying identification requirements can be emailed to MailBallot@VoteBrevard.gov or returned via fax at 321-637-5460.

The same is true if a voter's signature on the mail ballot certificate does not match what is on file in the elections office.

The deadline for fixing these issues is 5 p.m. two days after ElectionDay.

How big a deal is the voter's signature?

It is a big deal, as it could affect whether a vote is counted.

A voter's signature is verified on every mail ballot returned, in every election, based on the signature on file with the supervisor of elections office

Theoffice will seek to notify the voter by phone, text, email and letter if the voter forgot to sign his or her ballot or if any signature mismatch, such as if the voter's spouse accidentally signed the ballot.

Do you have to select a candidate in every race on the ballot?

No. The ballot will count, regardless of how many or how few races a voter casts a ballot in.

There is a lot on the ballot. Inaddition to the presidential election, there are races on the ballot locally for U.S. Congress, one Florida Senate seat, four Florida House seats, Brevard County sheriff, three Brevard County Commission seats, one Canaveral Port Authority seat and a number of municipal elections.

In addition to contested races involving candidates, the ballot contains six proposed state constitutional amendments, a countywide referendum related to a school infrastructure sales taxand various local referendums.

What's on your ballot depends on where you live.

Supervisor of Elections Lori Scott reminds voters thatthe 2020 general election ballot is a two-page ballot, so it'simportant for voters check both sides of both pages of their ballot for races and issues.

What happens if a voter makes a mistake in filling out the ballot?

The voter can call 321-633-2127 to get instructions on what to do, as well ashow to arrange to turn in the faulty ballot and get another one.

What if a voter requests a mail ballot, and later decides he or shewould like to vote in person at an early-voting site or the polling location on Election Day?

If a mail ballot is requested and received, but then the voter decides to vote in person,the voter should take his or her mail ballot to the polling location and give it to an election official, who will then allow him or her to vote a regular ballot.

If the voter does not bring his or her unvoted mail ballot, and the election officials cannot verify that the voter's ballot has not been received by the elections office, the voter will be required to vote a "provisional ballot."

What has the trend been for the casting of ballots, based on the voter'spolitical party registration?

So far, more Democrats than Republicans have cast vote-by-mail ballots, even though there are more Republican voters that Democratic voters in the county.

Of the vote-by mail ballots cast so far, 22,237 were by Democrats; 15,157were by Republicans; 8,241were by "no party affiliation"voters; and 656were by members of a minor political party.

How popular are vote-by-mail ballots in Brevard County?

They're very popular.

About 44% of all ballots voted in the March 17 presidential preference primary were done through vote-by-mail ballots.

The figure was even higher in the Aug. 18 primary for other races, as many voters decided not to venture out to polling places because of the coronavirus pandemic. For example, in theCircuit Court judge Group 15 — the one in which the most voters cast ballots —just 29.7% voted at a polling place on Primary Day, compared with 57.7% who voted by mail, and 12.6% who voted at one of 10 in-person early-voting sites from Aug. 8 to Aug. 15.

Dave Berman is government editor at FLORIDA TODAY. His Political Spin column runs Sundays in FLORIDA TODAY.

Contact Berman at 321-242-3649 or dberman@floridatoday.com. Twitter: @bydaveberman

To subscribe: https://cm.floridatoday.com/specialoffer/

15 things you should know about your vote-by-mail ballot (2024)
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