Voting By Mail in Flagler County
Many voters in Flagler County are considering voting by mail and have questions. Others are questioning the integrity of the mail ballot voting process. This explanation is in a question-and-answer format to help voters understand the process in Flagler County. It may answer many questions you may have concerning the integrity of voting by mail.
Frequently Asked Mail Ballot Questions:
- Are mail ballots counted?
- Can anyone vote by mail?
- How do you verify a voter's identity when they vote by mail?
- How do you ensure a voter’s ballot is kept secret?
- I don’t trust the mail to return my ballot.
- Can I return my mail ballot in person?
- How do you keep mail ballots secure?
- How do I find out if my ballot has been received and counted?
- I requested a mail ballot but can I vote in person instead?
- I’ve heard of ballot harvesting, does that happen in Florida?
Unfortunately, voters are faced with negative information and myths pertaining to the mail ballot process in Florida. Election after election, even after thousands of Flagler County voters successfully cast their ballots by mail, we are defending the security of mail ballot voting again this year. Many voters in our county prefer to vote by mail for the convenience of voting from home, due to work, travel, transportation, or health reasons. We mail ballots all over the world to overseas citizens and our military service members who are serving overseas. Florida has been a no-excuse absentee (also known as Vote-By-Mail) state for over 20 years!
Here are answers to some questions we have been receiving concerning mail ballot voting in Flagler County.
Thanks for reading and enjoy!
Kaiti Lenhart
Flagler County Supervisor of Elections
Are mail ballots counted?
Yes! One of the biggest myths is that Vote-By-Mail ballots are not counted unless a race is close. All mail ballots are verified and counted in every election. In fact, they are among the first results you see on Election Night. During the General Election in 2018, we had a record number of mail ballots returned: 14,649 (which was 27.5% of the total turnout) during that election. Many voters chose to vote by mail during the COVID pandemic. Over 31,000 mail ballots were verified and counted during the 2020 General Election. Most recently, we verified and counted over 21,000 mail ballots during the 2022 General Election.
Mail ballots are opened during a public meeting of the Canvassing Board, where teams are used to separate envelopes and their contents to ensure a voter’s secrecy. Ballots are tabulated (counted) during the same meeting and all three members of the Canvassing Board (County Judge, County Commissioner, and Supervisor of Elections) verify the totals. We meet to open and count mail ballots several times during an election cycle. The public is welcomed to attend!
Can anyone vote by mail?
Yes, any registered voter in Flagler County can request a mail ballot. According to Federal law, ballots for overseas citizens and our military service members are mailed 45 days prior to an election. All other ballots are mailed up to 40 days prior to an election. Voted ballots can be returned any time prior to Election Day at 7:00 P.M.
How do you verify a voter's identity when they vote by mail?
In order to vote by mail, a citizen must be registered to vote and provide ID at the time of registering. If no ID is provided, the voter must return a copy of their ID along with their balloting materials and complete an affidavit. In order for a mail ballot to be counted, the signature on the returned voter’s certificate must match the signature on file. Each one of the thousands of mail ballot envelope signatures are reviewed by trained Elections Office staff, a process which takes many hours. In the 2020 General Election, we reviewed every single one of the 31,000+ signatures. If there is a difference, the ballot is escalated for review by two other staff members. A voter whose ballot signature is missing or does not match is contacted by mail, phone and/or email immediately and instructed to complete an affidavit. They must provide photo ID to “cure” the signature difference. If the ballot return envelope is not signed, the ballot cannot be counted unless the same affidavit and ID are provided.
How do you ensure a voter’s ballot is kept secret?
During the public meeting of the Canvassing Board, teams of two people are used to open and separate the ballot from the returned envelopes. The number of teams is typically determined by the number of ballots being opened and the number of election poll workers available. Ballots are opened by precinct and each team counts one precinct at a time. The first team member removes the contents of the envelope and passes the ballot and secrecy sleeve to their team member who is seated across the table. The process is important because the name of the voter who was mailed a ballot is printed on the return ballot envelope while the contents of the ballot envelope (the ballot itself and the secrecy sleeve) do not have any identifying information. The second team member does not see any of the ballot envelopes.
The second team member removes the ballot from the secrecy sleeve, unfolds it, and places it face down. This process continues until all the envelopes in that precinct have been opened. Each team member counts and reconcile the empty envelopes with the number of ballots. The teams do not know how many ballots are in each precinct. They announce their total and it is compared to the number received by the office by the Canvassing Board members. The numbers must match, or the ballots are counted again. We often receive thousands of mail ballots during a busy election cycle and this process can take several hours. After a precinct total is verified by the Canvassing Board, the ballots are moved to tabulation and counted. The tabulation team is comprised of trained Elections Office staff who again verify the totals by precinct. At the end of the meeting, the grand total is verified by the Canvassing Board.
I don’t trust the mail to return my ballot. Can I return my mail ballot in person?
Many voters prefer to drop off their voted mail ballot in person. Secure ballot drop boxes are available at all early voting sites during voting hours. Ballots placed in our drop boxes are returned to the office by Elections Office staff at the end of every early voting day. This means the Elections Office will receive your voted ballot the same day you drop it off at an early voting site. We also have a secure ballot drop box at the entrance of the Elections Office in Bunnell, which is under video surveillance and available during business hours in advance of the election. During an election cycle, ballots returned in our office drop box are collected several times a day by Elections Office staff. You may also visit the Elections Office in person during office hours to return your ballot to our front counter.
*** The ballot drop box at the Supervisor of Elections Office will be available during office hours and early voting hours only in 2022, beginning on July 15. Early voting drop boxes will still be available during early voting hours, the same as they were in 2020. The law was changed in the 2021 Legislative Session. ***
Please remember that your voted mail ballot must be returned by 7:00 P.M. on Election Day in order to be counted. A postmark does not extend this deadline. We recommend you mail your ballot at least a week prior to the election, to ensure delivery to the Elections Office.
You cannot return your voted mail ballot at an Election Day polling place. If you are in the county and still have your voted mail ballot on Election Day, it must be delivered directly to the Elections Office no later than 7:00 P.M. in order to be counted.
How do you keep mail ballots secure?
When a mail ballot is received, it is date stamped and checked in by precinct. Once the voter’s identity is confirmed, the ballot envelopes are counted and sorted by precinct. Mail ballots are received daily and those returned each day are added to the cumulative total. We balance these ballots received daily and the totals are reconciled before staff leaves for the day. They are stored in our fireproof vault, which is under video surveillance and our security procedures require two-person control to enter. The ballots are stored there until they are opened and counted during a public meeting of the Canvassing Board.
How do I find out if my ballot has been received and counted?
We provide an online ballot tracking service for all voters who prefer to vote by mail. To use this service, simply visit www.FlaglerElections.com/vbm and enter your information. You can see the date your ballot was mailed and whether or not it has been received and counted.
Beginning with the 2022 Primary Election, we are offering BallotTrax, a secure communication system to help voters track their Vote-By-Mail ballots. BallotTrax has the capability to send text, email, and voicemail notifications reporting the status of a voter's ballot during an election. The tracking service will provide the following notifications:
- Printed and being mailed soon
- Ballot has been mailed
- Received and counted
- Received and not counted
- Returned as undeliverable
The system does not change or update voter registration. It uses information available from the USPS to track outgoing and received mail, and voter registration information that is made available via public record. Sign up here: Flagler County Ballot Trax
I requested a mail ballot but can I vote in person instead?
If you have requested and received a mail ballot but decide to vote in person, bring your ballot with you to the polls. The mail ballot will be canceled and you will be issued a new ballot at the polling location.
You cannot use a mail ballot as a sample ballot in the voting booth. Instead, bring this sample ballot with you to use as a reference. A mail ballot is an official ballot, it is not a sample ballot. A voter may not have two ballots at one time. Voting twice in an election is a third-degree felony. Instead, a voter is encouraged to transfer their choices from the mail ballot onto a sample ballot.
I’ve heard of ballot harvesting, does that happen in Florida?
Ballot harvesting is the collection and return of absentee or mail-in ballots by any third party, including volunteers or workers. Recent laws and court rulings in various states have sometimes allowed harvesting and sometimes forbidden it. Ballot harvesting is illegal in Florida.
Some practices that are uniformly illegal across the nation include:
- Filling out a ballot for another voter
- Intimidating a voter into voting for or against a candidate
- Influencing a voter's decision
Section 104.0616, Florida Statutes makes it a criminal offense for a person to provide or offer to provide, or to accept, a pecuniary or other benefits "in exchange for" distributing, ordering, requesting, collecting, delivering, or otherwise physically possessing more than two vote-by-mail ballots per election (other than his or her own or that of his or her immediate family) with an exception for a supervised voting situation in an assisted living facility or nursing home under Section 101.655, F.S.
A designee may pick up a blank vote-by-mail ballot for another voter. An example of this would be a voter who planned on voting on Election Day but is unexpectedly in the hospital. A family member can pick up their ballot, with certain restrictions. The designee is limited to picking up the following blank ballots (besides his or her own ballot):
- Ballots for two other voters (that do not fall in the categories below).
- One ballot for any member of his or her immediate family: spouse, parent, child, grandparent or sibling or spouse’s parent, grandparent, or sibling.
*** Immediate family now includes grandchildren, who may also pick up a ballot for their family member. The law was changed in the 2021 Legislative Session. ***
A designee can pick up a ballot for another voter only within the 9-day period before Election Day and on Election Day. The designee must have a written, signed authorization from the voter in order to pick up their ballot and present a photo ID.
Quick facts about mail ballot voting:
- Florida has been a no-excuse absentee state for over 20 years. The Legislature passed this law following the 2000 recount.
- Thirty-four (34) states, including Florida, do not require an excuse from those who wish to vote absentee or by mail. Five (5) of those states conduct elections entirely by mail: Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, Utah, and Washington.
- The remaining sixteen (16) states require voters to provide an “excuse” for why they will not be able to vote on Election Day. Some of these states provide early voting, others do not have early voting. Reference for #2 & 3: https://www.ncsl.org/elections-and-campaigns/table-1-states-with-no-excuse-absentee-voting
Call (386) 313-4170 or place your
request for a mail ballot online.
We will also still have in-person voting options such as
early voting and
Election Day voting for all statewide elections.