Florida’s election laws are very specific, and can make a difference in whether someone can easily vote in the March 19 Republican presidential preference primary and nonpartisan local elections — or inadvertently miss their opportunity.
A person who makes what seems like a simple mistake or omission may be unable to vote or have the vote counted.
And the rules are sometimes confusing. In some circumstances something postmarked by the deadline is allowed even if it arrives later at the elections office. In other areas, postmarks don’t count and the form must be in the elections offices by a specific time on the deadline day.
And some deadlines and procedures have shifted in recent years.
Registration
Tuesday, Feb. 20, is the deadline to register to vote or to change a party affiliation for the Republican presidential preference primary or to vote in nonpartisan city, town and village elections.
Applications and changes will be accepted online until midnight and at elections offices until 5 p.m., said Joe Scott, Broward County supervisor of elections, and Alison Novoa, director of strategic initiatives at the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Office.
They said the easiest way for someone to register is by going online. People also can complete and hand-deliver or mail registration forms, which can be downloaded and printed or picked up at elections branch offices, motor vehicle offices, and libraries.
A registration application sent by mail would be processed if it is postmarked on or before Feb. 20.
But Novoa said an application must be complete to be processed, and she recommended someone who’s filling out a paper form come to a county elections office to ensure it’s done correctly. Anyone waiting until the deadline to submit a registration should review it “a couple of times and make sure they get it right.”
Mail ballot requests
The deadline to request a mail ballot is 5 p.m. March 7.
The deadline is strict; the vote-by-mail ballot request must be at the elections office by the deadline, and postmarks don’t count, Scott said.
Signing up for a mail ballot online is the preferred method, Scott and Novoa said.
Online, people will immediately know if they put in the wrong identifying number. It’s either a driver’s license (most people) or the last four digits of their Social Security number.
For people who make the wrong choice, the system will alert them that they’ve entered a number the elections office doesn’t have on file.
If someone sends a mail ballot request by mail, and it arrives after the deadline with the wrong identifying number, it can’t be processed, Scott said.
Once early voting has started, people can no longer routinely come into the elections office to pick up a mail ballot. A ballot may only be obtained at an elections office if a voter signs an affidavit explaining that an emergency prevents the person from utilizing in-person early voting or Election Day voting, Novoa said.
“That’s going to be a big shock to a lot of folks,” she said.
Returning mail ballots
Mail ballots must be back at the elections office by 7 p.m. on Election Night. Postmarks don’t count.
Every election there are ballots that arrive late and can’t be counted under Florida law.
Elections officials warned against waiting too long, risking the vagaries of the Postal Service. Scott urged people to return their mail ballots as soon as possible. “I tell them: Do it now. Don’t wait.” Novoa said people using the mail should allow “at least seven days” from Election Day.
Voters in both counties get postage-paid return envelopes.
People can also return their mail ballots to early voting sites, during days and times early voting is operating. (Ballots dropped at early voting sites used to go into “drop boxes,” but state law changed the name to “secure ballot intake stations.)
Completed ballots can also be dropped off at most, but not all, county elections offices.
There is a deadline exception. For elections involving federal offices, including the Republican presidential primary, an extra 10 days are allowed for military and overseas ballots to be returned and still get counted.
Early voting
Early voting will be available at 25 sites in Broward and 23 in Palm Beach County. People can use any location in the county in which they live.
It runs from March 9 through March 17, the Sunday before Election Day in both countries.
Hours in Broward are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and hours in Palm Beach County are 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Election Day
Neighborhood polling places are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on March 19.
People must vote in their assigned polling place on Election Day.
Mail ballots must be at the elections office by 7 p.m.
Info
Information and links to register to vote, change registration, check your voting status, request vote-by-mail ballots are available online and by phone. The Broward and Palm Beach county elections offices are closed Feb. 19 for the Presidents Day holiday.
Broward County: browardvotes.gov, 954-357-8683. Open 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays.
Palm Beach County: votepalmbeach.gov, 561-656-6200. Open 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays.
Statewide voter registration site: registertovoteflorida.gov