South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
A guide to early voting in Florida in the presidential election.
Early voting, which more and more Floridians have used during the last four presidential elections, is going to look very different for the 2020 presidential election.
From the line to get in, to the process for checking IDs, to what happens when voters leave the voting center, the system has been overhauled in response to the corona virus pandemic.
Here’s everything you need to know to make it go smoothly.
Dates and times
Almost everyone in Florida can vote early for 14 days, from Oct. 19 throughNov. 1, the Sunday before ElectionDay.
The full 14 days of early voting are offered in Bro ward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties. Unlike the August primary election, all South Florida counties are offering the same hours on all days: 7 a.m. to
7p.m.
But there are some differences in the calendar. The first five week days and the final Sunday are optional, and some Florida counties don’t offer early voting during the first five days and the last Sunday. State Division of Elections records show that all the countieswithmore than
175,000 residents start early voting on Oct. 19. That covers more than
90% of the state’ s population.
Locations
A voter may goto any regional site in the county inwhich they live for early in-person voting. On Election Day, Nov .3, people must vote in their neighborhood polling locations.
There are 22 sites in Broward County, 18 in Palm Beach County and 33 in Miami-Dade County. Hoursare7a.m. to7p.m. inallcounties. A voter who is in line by 7 p.m. will be allowed to vote.
Some locations used in the past have changed for various reasons, including social distancing and cleaning necessitated by the corona virus pandemic.
Lines
Severalstateshaveseenlonglines forearlyvoting, particularlyearly. No oneknowswhattoexpectinFlorida, wheremanymorepeoplethanusual havebeenvotingbymail.
Most likely times for lines are the firstdayandthefinalSunday. Weekendsaregenerallybusierthanweekdays, as are before and afterwork hoursandlunchtime.
Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties post estimatedwait times onthe supervisor of electionsoffice website. IflinesdevelopinBroward County, which Supervisor of Elections Peter Antonacci doesn’t think will happen, wait times will be posted.
COVID-19precautions
Supervisors of elections in Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties have made extensive changes to make early voting as safe as possible even with the corona virus spreading in the community.
All three counties have orders requiring people towear masks in public, and that’ s expected of voters at early voting locations, but enforcement varies by county and voters may encounter people who aren’t wearingmasks.
In Miami-Dade County, voters must maintain a 6-foot distance while in line andwear a mask, even outdoors. People who refuse to wear masks will have to vote outdoors. In Palm Beach County, voters without masks will be allowed to cast ballots only if they cite amedical problem or some other exemption under the county’s mask law. In Broward, Anton ac ci does not expect problems, but if people without masks disrupt voting, pollworkers have authority to call police or the Sheriff’ s Office.
Poll workers will be wearing facial coverings. Hand sanitizer is available at all early voting sites.
Bro ward and Palm Beach counties are providing fresh pens for each voter, and they can be taken and won’tbereused. Votercheck-inwill bed one in away that doesn’ t require people to hand their driver licenses topollworkers.
Spacing will be marked and social distancing will be required for voters in line. The privacy booths will be wiped down each time they’ re used.
Onthe ballot
Thepresidentialelectionisthebig contest.
Most voters will also face elections for members of Congress and the state Legislature. Many South Florida voters will also see county commission, city commission or SchoolBoardcontests.
Miami-Dade County has a hot raceforcountymayor, andBroward and Palm Beach counties are electingsheriffs.
There are also several proposed amendments to the state Constitution, plus local referendumsin variouspartsofSouthFlorida.
What’s essential
The most important thing is having photo identification that includes a signature. A driver’s license or state-issued ID card is best, but other accepted forms include passports, debit or credit cards, and identification for members of the military, students, retirement centers, neighborhood associations, public assistance, and Veterans Administration healthcare and government employees.
If the photo IDdoesn’t include a signature, another piece of identification with a signature is required.
What’s helpful
Youcanalsomakethingsgofaster byknowinghowyou’regoingtovote. You’re allowed to bring a marked sample ballot, palm card or other information into the polling place tohelpyourememberyourchoices.
Making choices in advance is much easier than trying to read all theproposedconstitutionalamendmentsandreferendumsonceyou’re inside the polling place. During the pandemic, there’s another plus: less
time spent inside at the early voting site.
What’s allowed
People can wear election buttons, T-shirts and other indications they support a candidate when they go to vote. Campaign attire doesn’t count as illegal electioneering at the polls.
What people can’t do is attempt to sway voters in the no-campaign zone or hang around in that area after they’ve voted, acting as a human campaign advertisement.
That means a Joe Bide nor Donald Trump T-shirt is allowed but distributing hand bills for a candidate isn’ t.
And people may take pictures of their ballots, owing to a recent changeinstatelaw. However, there’s a limit. People aren’ t allowed to take selfi es in a polling place because they might end up having someone else intheimage.
Make the vote count
To make sure your vote counts, mark the ballot exactly theway the instructions specify. If you don’t, it might not scan correctly.
In Palm Beach County, people who haven’t voted since 2018 will find a different ballot style. It’s now like other counties, andvoters fill in an oval to cast a vote.
If someone votes for more than one candidate in a race (unless it’s a contest in which people are supposed to pick more than one candidate), the vote won’t count. People can skip a race and leave it blank.
Ifyoumakeamistake, ormakean accidental extra mark on the ballot, don’t cross it out. Ask for a replacement ballot. Once your paper ballot goes into the scanner, it’s too late to makechanges.
Mail ballots
All early voting sites allow people to drop off their mail ballots during the hours they’ re operating.
Procedures vary by county. In Miami-Dade County, drivethrough ballot drop-off is available at all locations, allowing people to turn in their ballots from their cars.
In other places people must get out and may have to stand in line. In Bro ward, Anton ac ci said all locations have separate entrances for people who are just doing a drop-off, which he said means there won’ t be waiting.
In Palm Beach County, Supervisor of ElectionsWendy Sartory Link said 17 of Palm Beach County’s early voting locationswill have vans on-site where people can turn in their mail ballots.
(Supervisors of elections offices also serve as mail ballot drop-off sites, and one of the Palm Beach County early voting locations already has a mail ballot drop box in place.)
Someone dropping off a mail ballot at early voting sites needs to place it in the return envelope, and signanddateit.
Someone who has received a mail ballot but wants to vote in person can dos oat an early voting site.
Antonacci in Broward, Link in Palm Beach County and Supervisor of Elections ChristinaWhite in Miami-Dade County said the voter check-in systems tops someone from voting more than once. For example, if amail ballot has been processed, the person won’ t be allowed to vote in person.
Locations, and info
Broward: browardsoe.org or
954-357-7050. Miami-Dade: miamidade.gov/ elections or 305-499-8683
Palm Beach: pbcelections.org
561-656-6200.