JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – More than 130,000 requests already have been received by the Duval County Supervisor of Elections for mail-in ballots. In Florida, you have to request one — it won’t be sent automatically, as in other states.
The deadline for Florida’s election supervisors to mail these ballots is Sept. 24. Floridians can still ask for mail-in ballots after that point, but they must make that request by Oct. 24, 10 days before the Nov. 3 general election.
But even though you can wait that long, it’s recommended that you request your mail-in ballot sooner. The U.S. Postal Service anticipates it might take at least a week to deliver mail-in ballots to election supervisors.
Requests for mail-in ballots can be made online, over the phone or in person. The process is fairly simple: all you need to provide is the registered voter’s full name, address and date of birth, as well as a signature if your request is made in writing. (You can request yours through the election supervisor’s website.)
Duval County Supervisor of Elections Mike Hogan said his officer is receiving a number of inquiries about mailing address changes. Hogan said a mail-in ballot cannot be forwarded, so if you moved and your current address has yet to be updated, then you might not receive your ballot in the mail. But he said there’s a simple way on the Supervisor of Elections website to check on the status of your address.
“At the top of the homepage there is a navigation button entitled “My Voter Status." Click on that and enter your first name, your last name and date of birth and tell your computer that you are not a robot. Then it will take you to your voter information, your personal voter information. You’ll find out what your address is to make sure everything has been changed,” Hogan said, adding that you can submit a request to update your address on the same website.
Hogan also warned of flyers that have been sent to many resident’s addresses offering to help them register to vote. He said those mailers have not come from his office and do not contain all the important details his office needs to register a person to vote. As a result, he suggested you avoid filling out these flyers and instead reach out to his office directly by calling 904-630-1414.
Remember, a mail-in ballot must be received by 7 p.m. on Nov. 3 or else it will not be counted.