Fewer voters by mail, longer lines

If the trend continues, it means more voters at early voting and Election Day sites.

The shift to voting by mail that gripped Florida during the COVID-plagued 2020 presidential campaign is over. 

The number of voters seeking vote-by-mail ballots is in sharp decline.

Why that’s important: If the trend continues through Oct. 24, the last day to ask for a vote-by-mail ballot for the presidential election, it means longer lines at early voting and Election Day sites, Supervisor of Elections Wendy Sartory Link said.

• In 2020, 4.8 million voters, or 43 percent of all state voters, cast a ballot by mail. As of July 12, just 1.1 million had requested a vote-by-mail ballot.
• In Palm Beach County, 387,000 votes were cast by mail in the 2020 Biden-Trump contest, about half of all votes. As of mid-July, 168,000 had been requested. The county has 854,000 active registered voters, also in decline since 2020.

Requests for vote-by-mail ballots submitted for the Aug. 20 primary will be honored for the Nov. 5 presidential election, Link said. To sign up for a vote-by-mail ballot, click here. 

At a media event Friday, Link emphasized that if you used to get a ballot in the mail you need to ask again. Changes to state law wipe the slate clean after every major election. 

The change came as the Florida Legislature acted on former President Donald Trump’s unproven claims that vote-by-mail ballots were manipulated, costing him the 2020 election.

With fewer voters casting ballots by mail, more will head to the polls, Link said. In non-COVID years, vote-by-mail ballots have accounted for about a third of votes cast. 

Yes, but: The state also made it harder to drop off a ballot at a drop box. In fact, the Legislature banned the phrase. It’s now called a secure ballot intake station. The supervisor must pay two workers to monitor the stations. 

On Friday, election workers rolled out 16 pallets, each containing about 10,000 ballots in postal boxes secured by shrink-wrap, for shipping. The ballots filled a U.S. Postal Service semitrailer-truck. 

“It’s exciting for me,” said Link, who was appointed election supervisor in 2019 and is seeking reelection on the November ballot to her second full term. “This is the beginning of the election cycle.”

Of note: The supervisor’s new $50 million headquarters at the former site of the King’s Academy in Westgate near Belvedere Road and Military Trail is now open. Among its many advances are efforts to afford the public a clear view of vote-counting.

Poll workers wanted: The elections office needs 5,000 poll workers for November and has 3,000. Pay is $225 for basic duties, $415 for precinct clerks. Sign up here.