TAMPA, Fla. — This week election offices across Florida will begin the first round of opening, scanning and tabulating vote-by-mail ballots. By law, supervisors can begin that 22 days before Election Day.
While the counting process will begin, we will not know those results or any results until after polls close at 7 p.m. on election night.
Election officials, voting watchdog groups and 10 Tampa Bay want to make sure you know what to expect on election night and in the days and weeks to follow.
On Monday, Common Cause Florida along with the Florida Supervisors of Elections Association held a virtual seminar to talk about why election night will not be results night.
Supervisors from both Marion and Leon Counties say it will take time to ensure an accurate count. They say it’s more important to be accurate than fast.
They discussed how with more Floridians voting by mail this election than previous elections, the timeline will be different this election. While they are able to begin the process now, voters have until 7 p.m. on November 3rd to return their ballots to their Supervisor of Elections’ office. It will take time to verify the ballots, signatures, open them, scan them and tabulate them.
The ballot counting period is in place for a reason. It gives supervisors of elections time to ensure every vote is verified, counted and results are accurate.
“Give all of us a little bit of time to ensure that everything we produce, that we publish, is 100% accurate. We do not have the opportunity to be wrong,” said Marion County Supervisor of Elections Wesley Wilcox.
Voters also have a “cure period” to fix any issues with vote-by-mail ballots or for provisional ballots. To do so, you have until 5 p.m. two days after the election.
You still have time to request a vote by mail ballot be mailed to you. The deadline to request is Oct. 24.
Early in-person voting starts Monday, Oct. 19 in most of Tampa Bay and runs through Oct. 31 or Nov. 1 depending on the county. Highlands and Hardee counties will start their early voting on Oct. 22.
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