SALES-TAX REFERENDUM: Mail-in ballots and you

{{tncms-inline alignment=”right” content=”<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>PROS</strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;">Officials hope for a robust voter turnout, like that seen in Orange County in 1997. That year, an all-mail-in ballot vote had a larger turnout than the gubernatorial election the following year.</p> <p style="text-align: center;">Voting entirely by mail will save the county close to $80,000 in saved labor costs.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>CONS</strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;">A 2018 study by the American Civil Liberties Union comparing vote-by-mail in the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections found that vote-by-mail ballots are likelier to be rejected than ballots cast at a precinct. The study also found that younger voters and minorities were twice as likely to have their ballots rejected, and were less likely to have the error corrected.</p> <p style="text-align: center;">Additionally, vote-by-mail has several “points of vulnerability” that give election watchdogs pause. The lack of required identification, the opportunity for coercion, and the extended chain of custody of the ballots are somewhat concerning.</p>” id=”8ab0c336-f51b-462d-84c6-68abeb415ed2″ style-type=”info” title=”Pros and cons of mail-in ballots” type=”relcontent” width=”half”}}

In a first for Volusia County, an entirely mail-in ballot in the half-cent sales-tax referendum is set to hit all 399,703 registered voters in May.

Here is what you need to know:

{{tncms-inline alignment=”right” content=”<p><strong>April 22 —</strong> Last day to register to vote.</p> <p><strong>May 1 —</strong> County sends vote-by-mail ballots. Most voters should receive their ballots by May 4.</p> <p><strong>May 15 —</strong> Last day to update your voter signature. This is also when ballots begin to be counted.</p> <p><strong>May 21 —</strong> 7 p.m. deadline for the vote-by-mail ballots. The Elections Office must receive the ballots either by mail, or at one of the drop-off sites by 7 p.m.</p>” id=”960ec315-da3d-4d7a-8524-5222235e4fc7″ style-type=”info” title=”DATES TO REMEMBER” type=”relcontent” width=”half”}}

• The deadline to register to vote in this referendum is Monday, April 22. The deadline is 5 p.m. for in-person registration, or 11:59 p.m. for online registration at the state website. If sent by mail, the registration application must be postmarked April 22.
• Ballots will be mailed by the Elections Office Wednesday, May 1. Voters should receive the ballots no later than Saturday, May 4.
• Anyone who is a registered voter will receive a ballot in the mail: There is no absentee, early voting, or precinct voting in this election.
• The ballots will include a postage-paid envelope and secrecy sleeve. The secrecy sleeve is not required to be used or returned.
• Voters must sign their ballots with a signature that matches the signature the Elections Office has on file.
• Election staff will compare each signature to the signature on file, as the ballots are received.
• In the event of a mismatched or missing signature, the office will mail an affidavit to the voter, which the voter must return before the 7 p.m. May 21 deadline. If the office has a phone number or email address on file, the office will also attempt to notify the voter through those means.
• To update your signature, send a registration application to the Elections Office. This can be done online at www.volusiaelections.org, or in person at a public library or the Elections Office. The deadline to update your voter signature is May 15.
• Power of attorney is not accepted in the place of a voter’s mark or signature. In the case of an elderly voter who cannot write, he or she must update the signature or mark on file; a variety of “marks” are allowed. For instance, if a voter updates his or her signature to be an X, an X written on the mail-in ballot envelope will be accepted.
• Voters can choose to drop off their ballots at their city/town halls, where a secure ballot box (the same ones used for early voting) will be. Elections officials will retrieve the ballots each day.
• A person other than the voter can drop off the ballot (a friend, co-worker, etc.), as long as that person is not being paid to do so.
• On Monday, May 15, election officials will test the tabulating machines that will be used to count the May 21 referendum vote. Immediately after a successful test is completed, they will begin counting the votes.
• Any ballots received after 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 21, will be shredded, unopened.

USEFUL ONLINE ELECTION RESOURCES:

http://www.volusiaelections.org/

The official website of the Volusia County Department of Elections

https://www.registertovoteflorida.gov

Florida’s online voter-registration website, run by the Florida Department of State