Vote smart to make sure yours gets counted (and don’t try to vote twice)

First things first: Do not follow President Trump’s advice and try to vote twice in this election. That’s a felony in Florida.

Yes, we just had to write a sentence urging voters not to follow the law-andorder president’s advice to break the law. Strange times.

The president’s latest attempt to sow election chaos follows his earlier Twitter campaign to discredit voting by mail (even though he plans on doing so himself ) and to undermine the delivery of U.S. mail.

Voters might be left wondering what to do.

We’re here to help with some advice that doesn’t break any laws, increases the odds your vote gets counted and decreases the chances that Florida will become a national laughingstock. Again.

Voting by mail

If you’re prone to procrastinating, or making up your mind at the last minute, you should consider not voting by mail. But a record number of people probably will this year, in part to avoid the coronavirus by avoiding crowds.

Florida law says the latest you can request a ballot to vote by mail is 10 days before an election. Of course, that law was passed long before the latest postmaster general started dismantling his own agency, ostensibly in the name of efficiency.

In a letter to several states last month, including Florida, U.S. Postal Service General Counsel Thomas Marshall, warned that’s probably not enough time. He said voters should request a mail ballot at least two weeks before the Nov. 3 election.

We think you should put in your request with your local supervisor of elections office now. Right now. You don’t need a reason to vote by mail. You just have to ask for a ballot. You’re not committing yourself to vote by mail, just giving yourself the option — and plenty of time to make the decision.

If you decide to vote by mail but can’t get your completed ballot in the mail at least a week ahead of time, don’t bother risking it. In fact, a week ahead of the election might be cutting it too close. Instead, drop your completed and signed ballot off at an early voting site. A number of those sites in Orange County have drive-through drop-off boxes, so you don’t even have to get out of your car. It’s like getting a latte at Starbucks, only faster. And cheaper.

You also can give your completed ballot to someone else to drop off but never, ever give it to someone you don’t know and trust. If a stranger shows up asking for you ballot, send them away.

If you ask for a vote-by-mail ballot and get one, but then change your mind, you can still vote in person early or on Election Day. Bring your mail ballot and a poll worker will swap it for an in-person ballot. If you forget your mail ballot, that’s OK.

You’ll just have to sign a document certifying you don’t have it with you.

Voting early

If you want to vote in person, you can avoid potentially long Election Day lines — and crowds — by voting early. But the level of convenience for early voting depends on where you live.

Early voting sites in Seminole, Osceola and Orange counties, including the Amway Center, are open the maximum number of days allowed by law — 14 — and the maximum number of hours each day — 12. That’s good for our service-economy workers, who don’t work bankers’ hours or bankers’ days.

Lake County, on the other hand, is open 13 days but only from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. — the bare minimum number of hours allowed by law. Maybe that’s convenient for retirees, but not so much for working folks. Could be worse. Could be like counties in the Panhandle that have both bare minimum early voting days and hours.

To avoid lines and people in general, early voters should go on a weekday during mid-morning or mid-afternoon hours, if you can. Weekend crowds tend to be larger.

An ID is required, and you should complete a sample ballot before you go; you do not want to be reading the proposed constitutional amendments for the first time while casting your vote at an early voting location.

The primary election last month showed that supervisors of election are taking health concerns seriously. There was plenty of hand sanitizer, distancing and barriers between voters and poll workers.

Election Day voting

It’s the same basic guidance as early voting. Mid-morning and mid-afternoons on Election Day tend to be less crowded. Bring an ID. Bring a completed sample ballot. And if you like, bring your own pen, but it needs to be black or blue.

And bring your patience, because this election is worth it. You’ll not only be choosing whether you want four more years of what we have now, or a new path. Plus, tons of other candidates are running in state and local races, and their decisions will make as much or more difference in your everyday lives than the person who resides at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

Be ready. Be smart. And for the sake of us all, vote.

Editorials are the opinion of the Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board and are written by one of its members or a designee. The editorial board consists of Opinion Editor Mike Lafferty, Jennifer A. Marcial Ocasio, Jay Reddick, David Whitley and Editor-in-Chief Julie Anderson. Send emails to insight@orlandosentinel.com.