Democratic and Republican primaries, and a slew of nonpartisan elections, are more than five weeks away, but South Florida voters can begin casting their ballots.
Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Wendy Sartory Link’s office said they put 159,459 ballots in the mail on Friday, which means some of the county’s voters will begin receiving them on Saturday.
Broward Supervisor of Elections Joe Scott said more than 200,000 ballots would go in the mail on Tuesday. Scott, in an interview Friday with the South Florida Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, said the ballots are going out a little later than usual because the bulk of his office operations moved to a new, more secure location designed for election operations.
The planned Tuesday mailing is still within the window required by Florida law. Under state law, the first day supervisors of elections offices could send the initial batch of mail ballots was July 11. The last day for the first wave of mail ballots to go out is July 18.
The Miami-Dade County Elections Office said its initial mailing, of 215,000 ballots, went in the mail on Thursday.
A relatively small number of voters from South Florida and elsewhere have already received, and some returned, mail ballots. Overseas and military ballots had to go out from elections offices by July 6.
After the initial mailing, elections offices send ballots to people as requests come in. The last day people can request mail ballots for the Aug. 20 primaries and nonpartisan elections is Aug. 8.
Many people who have requested, and received, mail ballots in the past won’t be getting them for the Aug. 20 primaries and nonpartisan elections.
All requests for vote-by-mail ballots made in the lead-up to the 2020 presidential election — when mail voting surged because of the COVID pandemic — and 2022 midterm elections have been voided under state law.
That means voters who don’t take steps to sign up again won’t get mail ballots for the August primaries and nonpartisan elections or for the November presidential election.
In Broward, Scott said via email, the “requested vote-by-mail ballots is approximately one-third less than those requested in the 2020 primary elections. We believe the decrease in requested ballots is due in part to the recent change in our law regarding vote-by-mail ballots.”
Voters will select party nominees for a range of offices, from state Legislature to Congress. In most cases, the primaries are open only to registered voters in the political party holding the primary.
There are also many contests on Aug. 20 open to all voters, including elections for School Board and judge.
In addition, there are several primaries that are open to all voters, regardless of whether they’re registered as Democrats, Republicans, no party affiliation or in minor parties.
Scott said people sometimes believe that if they receive a ballot including an open/universal primary that they’ve gotten the wrong ballot. That’s not the case, he said.
Among the Aug. 20 open, universal primaries:
- Florida Senate District 35 in Broward, where there’s no incumbent because of term limits.
- Broward clerk of the circuit court, supervisor of elections and tax collector.
- Palm Beach County public defender.
Florida began allowing widespread mail voting after the contentious, problem-plagued 2000 presidential election. Voters don’t have to provide a reason, such as being out of town on Election Day, the way they once did with what used to be called absentee ballots. Use of mail balloting increased each year, then soared in popularity in 2020 because many voters didn’t want to go to in-person polling places during the coronavirus pandemic.
And someone who requests a mail ballot is not required to use it, Scott said. Voters can still use in-person early voting or vote in their neighborhood polling stations on Aug. 20. Safeguards are in place to prevent someone from voting more than once.
People who use mail ballots still have plenty of time to return them, but waiting too long is a problem.
Florida has a strict deadline. Mail ballots must be back at the county supervisors of elections offices by the time polls close at 7 p.m. on Election Day. If they arrive after that (with a limited exception for members of the military overseas) they won’t be counted. Postmarks don’t count.
Every election, thousands of mail ballots are late — and don’t get counted. And even a small number of votes can make a difference.
In the November 2021 special congressional primary contest in Broward and Palm Beach counties, Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick won by just five votes — out of 49,082 cast. A total of 297 mail ballots were postmarked on or before Nov. 1, but didn’t arrive at the supervisors of elections offices until after Election Day, Nov. 2. Under Florida law, they weren’t counted.
Information
People can check to see if they’re registered to vote, request mail ballots and check their status, and find locations of polling places online and by phone.
Broward County: www.browardvotes.gov, 954-357-8683.
Palm Beach County: www.votepalmbeach.gov, 561-656-6200.
