FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — In-person early voting in the presidential election is about to begin in Florida.

No one is certain what to expect. “We are anxious to see if Florida will follow Georgia’s trend of record-breaking numbers during the first few days of early voting,” said Broward Supervisor of Elections Joe Scott.

Early voting starts Monday, Oct. 21, in Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties, and lasts for 14 days. Dozens of locations are available in the three counties.

Though he’s unsure if it will break records, Scott said recently he expects heavy use of early voting pointing to the drop in the number of people who have requested vote-by-mail ballots compared to 2020, when many people didn’t want to vote in person during the pandemic.

He recommended people use one of the two methods of advance voting. Scott said he is “definitely urging people this time around, to not wait until the last day to vote. Either vote by mail or vote early to avoid the lines (on Election Day, Nov. 5.) We’re expecting a lot of enthusiasm once we get close to the last day and that there’s likely to be a large number of folks coming out to vote on Election Day.”

People who want to vote by mail need to act quickly. A strict new deadline is fast approaching, and not everyone who expects to automatically get a mail ballot will receive one unless they make a new request.

Here’s everything you need to know to make voting-by-mail, early voting and Election Day voting go smoothly — and make sure your ballot gets counted.

Early voting details

Early voting will be offered at 29 locations in Broward and 26 in Palm Beach County. People can use any location in the county in which they live.

Both counties run early voting from Monday, Oct. 21, through Sunday, Nov. 3, the Sunday before Election Day.

Hours are 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. in both counties.

A voter who is in line by 7 p.m. will be allowed to vote.

Although the full 14 days of early voting are offered by supervisors of elections in South Florida, counties are allowed to offer fewer days of early voting.

Based on what’s happened in the past, the busiest times with the greatest potential for lines is on the final Sunday of early voting. Weekends are generally busier than weekdays, as are before and after work hours and lunchtime.

Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Wendy Sartory Link implemented an appointment system in 2021 that allows people to make appointments for early voting in 15-minute time slots. Appointments aren’t required.

Her office’s website also shows estimated wait times at early voting sites.

Six Palm Beach County early-voting locations will be part of a new Paws to the Polls program to promote pet adoption and early voting. The office is partnering with several animal rescue organizations to have animals at the sites at various times. Link called it an “opportunity to encourage civic engagement and help our furry friends find loving homes.”

Follow the rules

Provisions of some state election laws and regulations have been waived in counties affected by hurricanes Helene and Milton, but there are no changes for Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties.

Florida’s election laws are very specific, and can make a difference in whether someone can easily vote — or inadvertently miss their opportunity.

That’s especially true for people using mail voting, because there isn’t a poll worker available to offer assistance the way there is for in-person voting at early voting sites or on Election Day.

A person who makes what seems like a simple mistake or omission may be unable to vote or have the vote counted. For example, some people mark their ballots for more than one candidate in a race and others don’t sign the mail-ballot return envelope.

The rules are sometimes confusing, and some deadlines and procedures have changed since the 2022 midterm elections.

Amy Keith, Common Cause Florida’s executive director, said in a written statement that there have been “significant changes to election laws over the last four years.” She said those changes “may make it more difficult for some people to vote.”

What’s essential

To vote in person, either at an early voting site or on Election Day, someone must have a current, valid photo ID with a signature. The most common are Florida driver’s licenses or state ID cards.

Many other forms of ID, including passports and credit or debit cards are accepted. If the photo ID doesn’t have a voter’s signature, the person will have to show another ID with a signature.

A voter identification card — which many people call a voter registration card — isn’t needed, and isn’t accepted as a form of identification at a polling place.

What’s helpful

With multiple elections and referendums the ballot is longer than many people realize.

The presidential election is, obviously, the big contest at the top of the ballot.

But Florida voters will also make choices for U.S. Senate and almost all will see contests for members of Congress and state Legislature. Many South Florida voters will also see county commission, mayor, city commission or School Board contests.

Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade also have countywide elections, including sheriff in all three counties.

Also on the ballot are several proposed amendments to the state Constitution, plus local referendums in various parts of South Florida.

The two highest-profile referendums, by far, are measures to enshrine abortion rights in the state Constitution and legalize recreational marijuana for adults.

People can make things go faster by knowing how they plan to vote. You’re allowed to bring a marked sample ballot, palm card or other information into the polling place to help you remember your choices. The Broward and Palm Beach county elections office websites allow people to see customized sample ballots for their location, and people can print, mark and bring them to vote.

Making choices in advance is much easier than trying to read all the proposed constitutional amendments and referendums once you’re inside the polling place. The importance and impact of some referendums is sometimes obscure.

What’s allowed

People can wear election buttons, T-shirts and other indications they support a candidate when they go to vote. Campaign attire doesn’t count as illegal electioneering at the polls.

What people can’t do is attempt to sway voters in the no-campaign zone or hang around in that area after they’ve voted, acting as a human campaign advertisement.

That means a Kamala Harris T-Shirt or a Donald Trump MAGA cap is allowed when someone is voting in a polling place, but distributing handbills for a candidate isn’t.

And people may take pictures of their ballots. People aren’t allowed to take selfies in a polling place because they might end up having someone else in the image.

Mail ballot requests

There is still time to request a mail ballot, which can be completed online.

Anyone who wants to receive a mail ballot for the upcoming election must have a request filed with the county supervisor of elections office by 5 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 24.

The deadline is strict; the vote-by-mail ballot request must be at the elections office by the deadline. That includes online applications. Postmarks for mailed applications don’t count.

Under state law, people who used mail ballots for the 2020 presidential election or 2022 election for governor are not automatically getting ballots for the 2024 election unless they’ve made a new request since the 2022 gubernatorial election.

There is still time. Broward and Palm Beach County elections officials said the online system will let people know if they’re trying to input an ID number that isn’t the one the offices have on file, so people can try the other form of ID.

(It’s a driver’s license for most people, or the last four digits of their Social Security number.)

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, officials said.

Another change since the last presidential election: Once early voting has started, people can no longer routinely go into the elections office to pick up a mail ballot under a change in state law.

A ballot may only be obtained at an elections office if a voter or an authorized designee signs an affidavit explaining that an emergency prevents the person from utilizing in-person early voting or Election Day voting.

Someone who requests and receives a mail ballot is not required to use it. Voters can still use in-person early voting or vote in their neighborhood polling stations on Election Day, Nov. 5. Safeguards are in place to prevent someone from voting more than once.

Returning mail ballots

People who use mail ballots still have time to return them, but waiting too long can be a problem.

Florida has a strict deadline. Mail ballots must be back at the county elections office by 7 p.m. on Election Day, Nov. 5.

Postmarks don’t count.

Voters in both Broward and Palm Beach counties get postage-paid return envelopes.

Be sure to sign the back of the return envelope where indicated.

Elections officials warned against waiting too long to return ballots and risking a Postal Service delay. Every election there are ballots that arrive late and can’t be counted under Florida law. In close elections there often have been enough uncounted ballots to potentially change the results.

(There is a later deadline for active military service members and their families and people sending their ballots from overseas.)

Many Florida elections officials, and the U.S. Postmaster General, recommend mailing ballots back no later than seven days before the deadline.

One reason to allow plenty of time: Some ballots have farther to travel than many people realize, even if they’re not sent in from distant locations.

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.

People can also return their mail ballots at early voting sites, during days and times early voting is operating.

Procedures vary by county. In Broward, all locations allow people to drive up to the drop box, and spokesperson Lisa Arneaud said voters are encouraged to stay in their cars and not walk up, which she said helps move the line, if there is one, move faster.

In Palm Beach County, only the main elections office near West Palm Beach has a drive-through drop box. At the other locations, people won’t have to stand in early voting lines to place their ballots in a drop box, spokesperson Alison Novoa said.

Ballots dropped at early voting sites used to go into “drop boxes,” but state law changed the name to “secure ballot intake stations” because Republican activists claimed without evidence that they weren’t sufficiently secure and could lead to fraud. The term drop boxes is so ingrained in the election system that it still appears on the Florida Secretary of State’s Office website.

Completed ballots also can be dropped off at county elections offices. After early voting ends on Nov. 3, people can still turn in mail ballots at the Broward or Palm Beach County supervisor of elections office headquarters or at branch offices on Nov. 4 and 5. Hours vary; specifics are on the county offices’ websites.

A voter’s designee is allowed to return a ballot on someone’s behalf. However, a designee is limited to two ballots per election unless it’s a ballot from an immediate family member.

Make it count

To make sure your vote counts, mark the ballot exactly the way the instructions specify. If you don’t, it might not scan correctly.

If someone votes for more than one candidate in a race (unless it’s a contest in which people are supposed to pick more than one candidate), the vote won’t count. People can skip a race and leave it blank.

If you make a mistake, or make an accidental extra mark on the ballot, don’t cross it out. Ask for a replacement ballot. Once your paper ballot goes into the scanner, it’s too late to make changes.

Fill in the oval as dictated by the instructions. Elections canvassing boards in each county end up reviewing unusual ballot markings and are left to decipher voter intent. If they’re unable to figure it out, the vote isn’t counted.

Election Day

Neighborhood polling places are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Election Day, Nov. 5.

Anyone who is in line at 7 p.m. is allowed to vote.

People must vote in their assigned polling place on Election Day.

ID requirements are the same as for in person early voting.

Information

People can check to see if they’re registered to vote, request mail ballots and check their status, and find locations of early voting centers and Election Day polling places online and by phone. (It’s too late to register for someone who hasn’t already done so. Florida cuts off voter registration 29 days before Election Day.)

Broward County: browardvotes.gov, 954-357-8683.

Palm Beach County: votepalmbeach.gov, 561-656-6200.

©2024 South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Visit sun-sentinel.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.