ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Florida voters who requested a ballot by mail should be getting theirs soon, but mail could be affected by the damage from Hurricane Helene.
Early voting could also be affected by the storm as locations might be damaged.
The Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections said residents in areas that aren't receiving mail delivery should request a mail hold from the post office. The office will then hold ballots for residents to pick up. Two post office locations in the Tampa Bay area were temporarily suspended and moved to different locations.
The Ruskin Post Office moved to Sun City Post Office, and the Bradenton Beach Post Office moved its operations to the Longboat Key Post Office with both having regular retail hours.
Registered voters affected by the storm don't need to update their residential address if they are temporarily displaced, but people receiving mail at a different address should contact their supervisor of elections.
To send back a a ballot, residents can mail it back, return it to a ballot return location or return it to a supervisor of elections office. The ballots have to be received by the supervisors of elections offices by 7 p.m. on Election Day.
The Florida Supervisors of Elections, which is a statewide association, asked the Secretary of State to make some emergency accommodations to make voting in affected counties, according to Hillsborough election officials.
Here are announcements from some Tampa Bay counties regarding voting after Hurricane Helene:
Hillsborough County
The Supervisor of Elections Craig Latimer said in an X post that all 27 of Hillsborough County's early voting sites will be available and open from Oct. 21 to Nov. 3.
Manatee County
The Supervisor of Elections website said their office is "actively taking steps to ensure the November election proceeds smoothly and securely, despite any disruptions caused by the storm."
They are encouraging residents to contact them as soon as possible with any address changes. All early voting locations are also open for in-person voting and ballot drop-off, according to the website.
Pinellas County
The ballots were sent out Tuesday, and Pinellas County officials are currently assessing the status of early voting sites and ballot return locations and will provide updates on their ability.
"Preliminary evaluations indicate that up to 40 polling locations may have sustained significant damage and could require relocation," the Pinellas County Supervisor of Election website said.