Some Florida county election officials are trying to figure out why hundreds of voters are seeing delays in getting their vote-by-mail ballots through the U.S. Postal Service.
Seminole County’s Supervisor of Elections Amy Pennock says they had to issue over 500 replacement ballots for voters who had not received their ballots in the mail.
“The other day, we dealt with a requester who it took them seven days to receive a vote-by-mail ballot that was mailed from my office here in Sanford to their house here in Sanford. That’s one example,” Pennock said.
She also said her office is getting at least 20 calls a day, and an equal amount of emails, from people asking about the status of their ballot.
“‘Why haven’t you received my vote, my mail ballot? Why haven’t you counted it?’ And so it has been one of the largest problems that we have experienced so far this election,” she said.
Pennock’s office is not the only one reporting issues. According to the South Florida Sun Sentinel, Broward County’s elections supervisor, Joe Scott, said he was hearing from residents about unusually long delays with vote-by-mail ballots.
In fact, Scott said his son’s own ballot took 12 days to get to the Broward County elections office from Orlando.
NPR station WLRN reports that similar issues have been reported in Monroe County, where Key West is located.
The issue is an urgent one as the clock ticks toward 7 p.m. on Nov. 3. Florida requires all vote-by-mail ballots to be in the county election offices by then, with the exception of overseas ballots.
So far, though, Seminole County is the only Central Florida county dealing with the issue. Supervisors from Brevard, Lake, Orange, Osceola, and Volusia counties tell News 6 they were not seeing similar issues.
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What’s causing it?
The cause of the issue remains unclear.
Pennock said she has not spoken to the U.S. Postal Service yet.
“Once we deliver the ballots to the post office for delivery, we don’t have control over them, and so it’s a big unknown to me,” Pennock said.
News 6 received this statement from a U.S. Postal Service spokesperson:
“There are any number of factors that may impact the timeliness of a mailpiece. Postal employees take seriously their role in processing and transporting mail in a timely manner, and we work diligently to do so year-round.
“Local postal management reports that we are currently experiencing no delays in our processing or delivery facilities for Seminole County. Without a review of the actual mailpieces involved, the Postal Service is unable to comment further. We will continue to communicate with state and local election officials as needed.”
The South Florida Sun Sentinel says a postal service spokesperson said there were no issues or delays being reported in Broward and Monroe counties, and all mail was being delivered as received.
Broward Supervisor Joe Scott told the Sun Sentinel that USPS was not being transparent and was not working with his office as it had in years past.
However, Central Florida election supervisors are not reporting any problems with their local postal service liaisons.
What should you do with your ballot?
Pennock said the issues were a blip in an otherwise busy election season. Turnout in Seminole County so far is at 31.52%, exceeding 2022.
“We are at 74% return rate on vote-by-mail ballots, which exceeds the entirety of the 2018 and 2022 election cycles,” Pennock said.
If you have not sent your vote-by-mail ballot back yet, Pennock said it’s probably too late to do so, but that doesn’t mean you can’t turn that ballot in in person.
“You can go vote in person. You still have time to early vote through Sunday, through this Sunday, we’re open 7 to 7,” Pennock said.
Most early voting locations throughout Central Florida have Secure Ballot Intake Stations where you can drop off your vote-by-mail ballot. You can find locations here:
- Brevard County: Oct. 19-31
- Flagler County: Oct. 19-31
- Lake County: Oct. 19-31
- Marion County: Oct. 22-31
- Orange County: Oct. 19-Nov. 1
- Osceola County: Oct. 19-Nov. 1
- Seminole County: Oct. 19-Nov. 1
- Sumter County: Oct. 24-31
- Volusia County: Oct. 19-31
On Election Day, however, you have to either turn your ballot in at the county elections office, or surrender it at your polling place and vote on a regular ballot.
“And then Election Day, and I know the voters’ preference was vote-by-mail because that’s why they asked for it, but we haven’t received it yet. I would recommend, to make sure your ballot has been cast, that you go vote in person,” Pennock said.
How to track your ballot
Voters who have sent in their ballot should check Ballot Trax to make sure their ballot has made it back to the elections office and has been accepted. Most counties in Central Florida use the program to track vote-by-mail ballots.
In Seminole County, you can go to this page on the supervisor of elections website.
For other Central Florida counties, you can check here:
- Brevard County
- Flagler County
- Lake County
- Marion County
- Orange County
- Osceola County
- Sumter County
- Volusia County
Watch for cure ballot requests
Pennock is also asking voters to be on the lookout for any emails, letters, or calls from their county elections offices if there is an issue with a vote-by-mail ballot, especially if there’s a signature mismatch.
Pennock says more than 300 Seminole County voters have received requests to fill out cure affidavits so the elections office can count their ballots.
“All we need you to do is fill out the cure affidavit and provide a piece of identification, and that will allow us to accept your ballot,” Pennock said. “So please don’t disregard a phone call, an e-mail from us. We want to make sure your ballot is cast in this election. You’ve done your part. There’s just a little bit more that we need from you.”
Pennock says the cure affidavit can be emailed to her office.
Voters have up to two days after the election to get their cure affidavit in.