JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – As everyone works to get their votes counted, there is one thing that plays a major role in ballots getting rejected -- and it involves your signature.
As of earlier this week, nearly 10,000 of the more than 14,000 mail-in ballots rejected in Florida were because of signature issues.
The Orlando Sentinel found that both Black and Hispanic voters' ballots were rejected twice as often as white voters. The data show minorities had their ballots rejected 0.8% of the time, while white voters’ ballots were rejected 0.3% of the time.
Here’s how the process works: The local canvassing board compares the signature on the outside of the ballot to your signature on your driver’s license. If it doesn’t match or there’s not one on file, the supervisor of elections office will try to contact you.
For the first time, voters this year were asked to include either an email address, telephone number or cellphone number just in case the supervisor needs to reach them. If you did not give that information, they will mail you an alert that you need to verify your signature. You can do that by signing the required paperwork and providing a copy of your photo ID through mail, email, fax or by returning it in person.
RELATED: Avoid these common mistakes made when filling in, returning mail-in ballots | Yielding to pressure, Duval’s election canvassing board livestreams ballot review
You have until 5 p.m. Nov. 5 -- the second day after the election -- to resolve any issues. This could be important if the numbers are tight.
Online tracking of your ballot is available in all 67 Florida counties. On each supervisor of elections’ website, look for a link called “My Voter Status” or something similar. Once you are logged in, go to “My Upcoming Elections” and look for your ballot status. If you’ve mailed your ballot and it’s still not showing as received, you can request a new ballot or, at this point, you’ll want to vote in person, which is always an option even if you’ve requested a mail-in ballot.