Voting 101 for state voters
All you need to know for mail-in early, Election Day
Early voting for the Nov. 3 general election begins Monday across Central Florida, and mail-in ballots are already pouring in from across the state. Here is what you need to know to successfully vote in this election.
Q: What kind of coronavirus pandemic safeguards will I see at the polling places, both for early voting and on Election Day?
A: Measures include designated “line coordinators” controlling the flow. There will be sanitizing of socially distanced booths, plexiglass shields, and disposable stylus pens available for every voter.
Q: So do I have to wear a mask to vote in person?
A: Despite all these safety rules, masks are not required at polling places, but elections supervisors are strongly encouraging everyone to wear one. Masks will be available at many locations.
Q: Where and when can I early vote in this election?
A: Early voting begins on Monday, Oct. 19, and can last until Nov. 1. The exact dates, hours and locations are established by each county’s supervisor of elections, and they can vary. For example, Lake County is holding early voting this year from Oct. 19 to Oct. 31, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Orange County includes the full window of Oct. 19 to Nov. 1, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. You can vote at any early voting location within the county in which you are registered to vote.
Check your county supervisor’s website for locations at www.ocfelections.com/early-voting-locations for Orange County,
www.voteseminole.org/ early-voting for Seminole County, www.lakevotes.com/VoterInformation/Early-Voting for Lake County, and https://www.voteosceola. Vote/Vote-Early for Osceola County.
Q: Can I still get a mailin ballot, and howquickly should I send it in?
A: Yes, but there isn’t much time. Registered voters have until Oct. 24 to apply to vote by mail. They can go to their county elections website to fill out the application online at ocfelections. vbmrequest/votebymailrequest_ for Orange County, https:// www.voteseminole.org/ vote-by-mail for Seminole County, www.lakevotes.com/VoterInformation/ Vote-ByMail/Mail-Ballot-Request for Lake County, and www.voteosceola.com/ How-to-Vote/ Vote-ByMail/Request-a-Mail-Ballot for Osceola County.
If voters choose to print out a form and apply by mail, the application form must be received at elections offices by 5 p.m. on Oct. 24. Election officials recommend returning the ballot as soon as possible. Any ballot received by mail after 7 p.m. on Nov. 3 will not be counted.
Q: Can I drop off my mail-in ballot instead of mailing it back?
A: Yes. Election supervisors have set up mail-in ballot drop boxes. Drop boxes are available at 119WKaley St., Orlando, for Orange County voters; 2509 E. Irlo
Bronson Memorial Highway, Kissimmee, for Osceola voters; 1898 E. Burleigh Blvd, Tavares, for Lake voters; and 1500 E. Airport Blvd, Sanford, for Seminole voters.
Beginning Monday, drop boxes will also be at early voting sites while they are open.
Q: Howcan Imake sure my vote was counted? Can I trackmy ballot?
A: Yes. After mailing back or dropping off mailin ballots, voters can go online to their county elections office website and learn if their ballotwas both received and accepted.
Voters can visit www.ocfelections.com/ track-my-vote-mail-ballot in Orange County, www.trackmymailballot.org in Seminole County, www.lakevotes.com/Voting/ in
Lake County, and www.voteosceola.com/en-us/VoterYour-Voter-Status in Osceola County.
Q: How do I fix a mailin ballot that gets rejected because my signature didn’t match what officials had on file? Or because I forgot to sign the envelope?
First, it’s best if your voter registration on file includes multiple ways for the elections office to contact you if your ballot has been rejected. You can include your phone number and email in addition to your address. Otherwise, the onlyway to reach you is by letter, and that could take time.
If notified by mail or email, the office will include a copy of the affidavit you have to print and fill out. If notified by phone,
you can also go online to your county elections office website to find the affidavit. Orange County voters can visit ocfelections.com; Osceola voters can visit voteosceola. Lake voters can visit lakevotes.com; and Seminole voters can visit voteseminole.org. Affidavits are also available at the state Division of Elections website. Spanish versions of the affidavit are also available at those websites.
Voters can also check the status of their ballot for themselves at those sites at any time.
Q: Whatdo I need to do to fill out and return the affidavit and makemy rejected ballot count?
A: After filling out the affidavit, which will include an updated version of your signature if that was the issue, you would also have to
make a copy of a photo ID. That could include a Florida driver license, a military, student, retirement center, neighborhood association, public assistance ID, or veteran health ID card, among others. If youdon’t have any of those, a current utility bill, bank statement, or government check or documentworks.
Take the completed affidavit and the photo ID copy to your county elections office at 119 W Kaley St., Orlando, for Orange County voters; 2509E. Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway, Kissimmee, for Osceolavoters; 1898 E. Burleigh Blvd, Tavares, for Lake voters; and 1500 E. Airport Blvd, Sanford, for Seminole voters.
If it’s close to Election Day, don’t worry: you have until 5 p.m. on the Thursday after Election Day to drop off your affidavit at the elections office.
Q: I got amail ballotbut decided to vote in person instead. Can I do that?
Yes. Just bring your mailin ballot to an early-voting location within your county or your polling precinct on Election Day. You’ll be able to surrender it there and get a fresh ballot to use at the polling place.
Q: Can anyone campaign for a candidate outside or inside a polling place?
Florida lawstates that no one can campaign or solicit voters within 150 feet of the entrance to any polling site, including elections offices.
That means no talking to voters in line about a candidate or who they’re voting for, as well as no distributing or selling any campaign material. Any “unruly or disruptive” people could be removed by the designated law enforcement officer at the scene.
But there are concerns about what happens if long lines at polling sites stretch beyond the 150-foot limit. In September, a group of Trump supporters waving campaign flags disrupted an early voting site in Virginia and forced voters to walk around them before a newlinewas formed inside.
Q: Who are poll watchers and what rules do they need to follow?
President Trump has called for volunteers for his “army” of poll watchers, leading to worries about voter intimidation at polling sites.
Poll watchers in Florida are limited to one per political party at each polling location. But a political committee formed to “expressly” back or oppose a ballot question can also have one watcher per polling site. No candidate or law enforcement officer can serve as a pollwatcher.
Watchers can watch and observe the voting, but any questions they have must go directly to the head poll worker at the site. Poll watchers cannot interact with voters or “obstruct the orderly conduct of an election.”
Q: Are guns or other weapons allowed at polling sites?
Florida is oneof six states that bans weapons at polling sites.
Law enforcement officers can bringweapons into polling places, but only when they’re casting a vote. Otherwise, they are prevented by law from entering unless they are the designated law enforcement officer at that site temporarily under the command of electionsworkers.