Don’t Look Now — The General Election is Almost Upon Us!
By: Robert S Weinroth
Election Day is no longer a one-day event. With Absentee (Vote-by-Mail) ballots, Early Voting and, of course, Election Day, residents have ample opportunity to make their selections for the candidates and answer a dozen ballot questions.
For the November General Election, registered voters can still request an Absentee Ballot by going onto the Supervisor of Elections website at: www.pbcelections.org/items.aspx?id=28
Not registered? It’s not too late to complete your registration. Residents who will be at least 18 years old as of November 6th can register to vote on or before October 9th2018 (29 days before the General Election). You needn’t make a trip to the Supervisor of Elections office.
Online Voter Registration can be accomplished at: www.pbcelections.org/items.aspx?id=18
For the upcoming election, Early Voting will run from Monday, October 22ndthrough Sunday, November 4thbetween the hours of 7AM and 7PM at any one of the 14 early voting locations within Palm Beach County including, for the first time, Florida Atlantic University.
In the City of Boca Raton, ballots can now be cast at the Downtown Library (400 NW 2ndAve Boca Raton FL 33432) and, at FAU (777 Glades Rd in Room 109 at Housing and Residential Education
Boca Raton, FL 33431).
FAU can be a bit confusing so here are the directions to the early voting site on the Boca Raton campus: From Glades Rd (FL 808) enter the FAU campus on University Dr. Turn right onto Indian River St. Turn left onto Dade Ave. The destination is on the left.
In addition to the two Early Voting locations within the City of Boca Raton there are two convenient locations just outside the city.
The first location is just north on Jog Rd at the South County Civic Center (16700 Jog Rd Delray Beach FL 33446) and the second is west of the city on State Road 7/US Hwy 441 at the West Boca Branch of the Palm Beach County Library (18685 SR 7/US 441 Boca Raton, FL 33498).
For a list of all PBC early voting sites, go to: www.pbcelections.org/content.aspx?id=343#12
Registered voters can go to ANY Early Voting site in Palm Beach County. However, remember on Election Day (Tuesday November 6th), registered voters must go to their designated poll location and bring their photo ID.
If you receive a Vote by Mail ballot but decide you would prefer to go to the polling locations (either during Early Voting or on Election Day, bring your unused Absentee ballot so it can be canceled to facilitate you being able to cast your ballot. If you received a Vote by Mail ballot and present yourself at the polling location without the ballot for cancelation the poll workers will be required to contact the Supervisor of Elections office to ensure the voted ballot was not received. If there is a question, you may be required to use a Provisional ballot which will not be counted until it is verified you did not return the voted Vote by Mail ballot.
If you go to the incorrect polling location on Election Day you may be offered a Provisional ballot but it will not be counted unless it is determined that was the correct precinct for you to cast a ballot.
If you do not have a current voter ID card with your designated poll location, you can go onto the Supervisor of Elections website the determine the correct location to go at: www.pbcelections.org/precinctfinder.aspx
Unlike the recent primary election, party affiliation is unnecessary to vote for all candidates on the ballot.
At the end of the ballot, voters will be asked to make a decision on a number of questions, including several proposed amendments to the Florida Constitution. It’s a long ballot but these are important decisions. To make an informed decision voters are urged to review their sample ballot that will be mailed by the Supervisor of Elections for all registered voters who did not request a Vote by Mail (Absentee) ballot.
Voters ARE permitted to bring the sample ballot (with their choices marked) to the polling place to help expedite the voting process.
Registered voters should make it their business to cast a ballot prior to 7PM on November 6th.
