Citizens who are among the 96 % of Residents that the polls show had made up their minds between Vice President , Kamala Harris , and former President , Donald Trump , can begin voting.
It’s now begun for more than 400, 000 people in , Broward , and , Palm Beach , regions who’ve requested vote-by-mail vote.
On Tuesday— simply five months before , Election Day,  , Nov. 5 , — , Broward County , sent out 241, 000 email vote. Supervisor of Elections , Joe Scott , said some people may get them Wednesday and Thursday.
Showing the often unstable nature of the , Postal Service, authorities said some , South Broward , citizens could get their votes on Tuesday, depending on where they live and when they get their mail.
Palm Beach County , Supervisor of Elections Wendy Sartory Link’s department sent out 190, 000 vote on Friday, and they started arriving in boxes on Saturday.
Mail election drop
As calls are received, both regions will continue to send out email ballots. Scott said his company has around 24, 000 more requests, and vote for those individuals will go out quickly.
The first mailings, Friday in , Palm Beach County , and Tuesday in , Broward, are timed according to state laws, which requires each state elections supervisor to take the first batch of mail ballots in a one-week period ending Thursday.
Under federal legislation, votes bosses had a , Sept. 21 , date to give votes to citizens living abroad and active duty military servicemembers and their families.
The 2020 national election has significantly decreased voter interest in email election.
Scott claimed that the main factor in the decline in message voting that took place in 2020 appears to be a reduction.
According to Scott,” a lot of people chose to voting by mail in 2020 because of the COVID-19 epidemic,” Scott said, adding that people are returning to their pre-pandemic desire of voting in people.
In , Broward, 203, 134 people voted by email during the 2016 presidential election, a quantity that soared to 474, 404 in 2020. The state has received 265,000 demands so far, including the 265,000 that were sent in the mail on Tuesday, but that is not the last number for 2024.
In , Palm Beach County, the number of voting by mail vote went from 152, 336 in 2016 to 387, 830 in 2022.
According to Scott, another factor contributing to the reduction could be the further restrictions the condition placed on email ballot requests.
People who wanted a message ballot for this year had to record a new demand with some more info since all requests made through the 2022 general election were canceled. There’s also time to do so, the date is , Oct. 24.
One result of the decline in email election, Scott said, is that area polling stations on , Election Day , could be more congested than they’ve been during subsequent elections.
Scott advised them to “either voting by email or voting early to avoid the ranges.” When the poll evening draws near, there is a lot of enthusiasm and it’s possible that many people will turn out for the election.
So, for those who want to be able to enter and exit fast, always look for “vote-by-mail” or “vote from home” and stay away from the craziness that might exist at a polling place. Or visit an early election page where you can choose where you want to get in Broward County at your earliest convenience.
Logistics
The logistics of getting the email votes from the work area in which they were prepared at the , Broward , elections office in , Fort Lauderdale , to the , Postal Service , sorting facility in , Opa-locka , involved lots of people and products.
- 2, 286 tubs of ballots.
- 97 metal dollies to hold the tubs.
- 3 , U. S. Postal Service , semi-trucks.
- 4 , Florida Highway Patrol , troopers in two patrol cars. State troopers, not , Broward , sheriff’s deputies, are used because the trucks carrying the ballots cross the , Broward/Miami-Dade county , line.
Broward’s ballots are handled at the Postal Service’s Royal Palm Processing and Distribution Center in , Opa-locka.
In 2012, as part of a nationwide cost-cutting move, the , Postal Service , closed the mail processing centers in , Fort Lauderdale , and , Pembroke Pines , and shifted the work sorting Broward’s mail to the , Opa-locka , center.
That location is the reason why a small number of , South Broward , voters could find ballots in other mailboxes Tuesday afternoon, officials said.
Returning ballots
Even though , Election Day , is weeks away, people who want to vote by mail should be cognizant of the calendar and not wait too long to return their ballots.
Florida , has a strict deadline:  , 7 p. m.  , on , Election Day,  , Nov. 5. Any ballot not in the possession of the supervisor of elections office will not be counted.
Postmarks do n’t count. In every election, ballots are cast uncounted because they arrived too late, sometimes more than enough to affect the outcome of some races.
” We ca n’t give a date that you’re guaranteed that your ballot is guaranteed to come in,” Scott said”. It’s probably too late to send it in the mail once you’ve been down, say, five days or so.
The , Palm Beach County , mail voting instructions state that” If you plan to mail your ballot back to us, you should allow at least one week for your ballot to reach our office.”
U. S.  , Postmaster General , Louis DeJoy, in a , Sept. 19 , news briefing, recommended people return their ballots slightly earlier: at least one week before , Election Day.
Under the laws of the state where they are voting,” We urge the voting public to mail their return ballot as soon as possible if they choose to do so.” That’s the key to everyone’s success,” DeJoy said.
He said the , Postal Service , would make” heroic efforts to beat the clock” to deliver mail ballots on time.
For military and other overseas ballots to be returned and still be counted, an additional 10 days are permitted.
There are other places where , Florida , voters can return their vote-by-mail ballots.
Once early voting begins, drop boxes can be found in early voting locations. ( Bowing to skepticism about mail voting,  , Republicans , who control the state Legislature changed the name of drop boxes to” secure ballot intake station.” )
They may also be returned to the county elections offices.
Key dates
Deadline to register to vote:  , Oct. 7.
Deadline to request a mail ballot:  , Oct. 24.
In-person early voting:  , Oct. 21-Nov. 3 , ( in , Broward , and , Palm Beach , counties ).
Election Day:  , Nov. 5.
Information
People can check their voter registration status, request mail ballots, and find polling location locations online and by phone.
Broward County:  , www. browardvotes. gov, 954-357-8683.
Palm Beach County:  , www. votepalmbeach. gov, 561-656-6200.
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