TAMPA, Fla. — Ahead of the pivotal 2024 election, election supervisors in Florida are seeing a drop-off in the number of vote-by-mail ballot requests following changes to state law.
Under changes made to the state’s election laws in 2021, vote-by-mail ballot requests were made valid for only one election cycle; therefore all existing requests were purged following the 2022 midterm election.
Right now, elections officials say requests are at the lowest levels they've seen in a decade, although voting by mail remains a popular form of casting a ballot in Florida. In 2022, roughly 1/3 of all voters in Florida voted by mail.
“If you want to request a mail ballot, do it today and don't wait,” Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections Julie Marcus said.
In Pinellas County, there are 99,900 fewer mail ballots slated to go out to voters. In Pasco County, 41,108 vote-by-mail requests are on file as of Aug. 11, compared to 124,464 in 2022. In Hillsborough County, where there were more than 300,000 vote-by-mail requests in 2022; they have just 155,500 to this point this year.
“I think our numbers are going to grow a little bit, but I’m concerned about it. I’m concerned about it not growing quicker,” Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections Craig Latimer said.
Latimer, Marcus and other area officials continue to get the word out to voters that they need to request a vote-by-mail ballot again to make sure they can vote in their preferred way ahead of the August primary and November general election.
“Do it now, be ready and we’re going to send that ballot right to your house. You can take that time, do your research, send it back to us when you’re done,” Latimer added.
“Check your status. If you want to vote by mail, which is a secure, convenient way to participate in an election, requests that mail ballot online or call your elections office to make sure that you're election-ready,” Marcus added.
You can request a vote-by-mail ballot online, by printing and mailing in a form, or by visiting your local supervisor of elections office.
Find your local elections supervisor’s office below: