The head of the Seminole County elections office said it has issued more than 500 replacement ballots to voters who did not receive theirs in the mail. Similar reports are coming in from other Florida counties. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3.
Supervisor of Elections Amy Pennock said her office receives about 20 phone calls and about as many emails a day from voters. They ask where their ballot is, or why the office has not yet received or counted it. She cited one person who waited seven days for a ballot sent from the Sanford office to an address also in Sanford.
According to the South Florida Sun Sentinel, Joe Scott, the elections supervisor in Broward County, has also heard of unusually long delays with mail ballots. Sherri Hodies, the elections supervisor in Monroe County, said some ballots sent from other states in early October reached Miami on Oct. 24 and Key West two days later. Miami-Dade County officials have not reported delivery problems. Of about 250,000 ballots mailed out there, about 120,000 have already been returned. For now, Seminole is the only county in Central Florida struggling with the problem.
The U.S. Postal Service said local management sees no delays at the facilities serving Broward, Monroe and Seminole counties. It added that it cannot comment on specifics without checking individual pieces of mail. The cause of the delays is unclear.
Turnout in Seminole County as of Oct. 30 was 31.52%, higher than in 2022. Pennock said 74% of mail ballots have been returned, more than in the entire 2018 and 2022 election cycles.
What can voters do? Elections offices in Broward, Seminole and Monroe counties are urging voters to deliver their ballots in person or vote at a polling place. In Florida, only ballots received by 7 p.m. on Election Day are counted. Polling places in Seminole County will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday. Early voting in Orange, Osceola and Seminole counties ended Sunday. Voters who have not yet returned their ballots should no longer mail them.
Source: Orlando Sentinel
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Source: Słoneczne Radio
