Don’t Look Now – Florida’s Primary Election Has Begun!

By: Robert S Weinroth

The election has officially begun – the first Vote-by-Mail ballots have been dropped in the Mail!

The deadline to request that a Vote-by-Mail ballot be mailed to you for the August 18, 2020 Primary Election is no later than 5PM on August 8, 2020.

If you miss the deadline, you can visit an office of the Supervisor of Elections (SOE) and they will print a mail ballot for you. Or, you can vote in person during Early Voting or on Election Day.

Vote-by-Mail (VBM) refers to voting a ballot received by mail or picked up by or for a voter instead of going to the polls to vote during Early Voting or Election Day

Any registered voter can Vote-by-Mail. you can request a Vote-by-Mail ballot for a specific election or for all elections through the next two general elections. after two general elections, you’ll need to make the request again.

A Vote-by-Mail ballot is not forwardable by the USPS and a ballot returned undeliverable cancels a request for future elections and must be renewed.

Please notify the SOE immediately if your mailing address changes, or if you plan to be out of town and they will send your ballot wherever you need to be.

By law, special accommodations are available for military and overseas voters.

REQUESTING YOUR VOTE-BY-MAIL BALLOT

A request for a Vote-by-Mail ballot may be made in one of the following ways:

*Online: (see below for link)
*By Phone: (561) 656-6208
*By Fax: (561) 656-6230
*In person at any of our four offices

Your Vote-by-Mail ballot may be sent to your legal residence address, permanent mailing address, or a temporary address.

When sending a Vote-by-Mail ballot to an address not on file with the Florida Voter Registration System, the request must be in writing and signed by the voter.

The online mail ballot request service system will notify you if the address is not already on file and you will be prompted to print, sign and submit your request to our office.

Written signed requests may be made by mail, fax (561) 656-6230, or as an attachment to email.

TO REQUEST VOTE-BY-MAIL FOR YOURSELF, YOU MUST PROVIDE:

* Your name and home address
* Your date of birth
* Your mailing address, if different from home address (ballots cannot be forwarded. Be sure to provide your current mailing address.)
* Your signature (for written requests)

Get your VBM at: pbcelections.org/Voters/Vote-By-Mail

The right to vote is one of the fundamental liberties we enjoy as Americans. It is also one of the greatest civic responsibilities U.S. Citizens have.

Exercise your right to vote and understand your responsibilities as a voter.

If you are not already registered to vote in Florida, eligible individuals can register to vote at any time. The deadline to register to participate in an upcoming election is 29 days before the election.

Deadline to register or change party for the upcoming primary is Monday, July 20, 2020.

Your residential address on file at our office determines the issues and candidates that will be on your ballot. You may also include a different mailing address for us to use when sending elections-related materials, including your Vote-by-Mail ballot if you request one.

Your party affiliation determines which candidates will be on your ballot during Primary Elections. Florida is a closed primary state, which means that you must be registered with a political party to vote in that party’s Primary Election. You may change your party affiliation at any time, but it must be done 29 days before a Primary Election to be valid for that election.

If you prefer not to be affiliated with a party, you may register as No Party Affiliation (NPA). In that case, only non-partisan races or issues included in the Primary Election will be on your ballot unless a Universal Primary Contest occurs.

A Universal Primary Contest occurs when all candidates in the same race have the same party affiliation and the winner will have no opposition in the General Election.

This year the election for Supervisor of Elections is a Universal Primary Contest.

Early Voting: 10AM – 7PM Monday, August 3, 2020 – Sunday, August 16, 2020

Vote-By-Mail: Due by 7PM Tuesday, August 18, 2020

Election Day: 7AM – 7PM Tuesday, August 18, 2020