What voting looks like in Florida
Florida
What you need to know:
- Florida has had vote by mail in place since 2002, giving them a robust vote by mail infrastructure, making some voters more familiar with the process.
- Still, there are historic number of mail ballots the state is tasked with counting.
- Reuters/Ipsos polling finds that Biden and Trump are in a close race in the state.
Early voting start date: Oct. 19
Absentee/Mail voting deadlines: Mailed out on September 24. Ballots must be received by 7 pm on Nov. 3
Voter ID: Photo ID
Party in control of the state legislature: Republican, both houses
Governor: Rob DeSantis (R)
Secretary of State: Laurel M. Lee (Re)
2016 Margin: 1.2% for Trump
Early voting: 8,974,896 early voters as of November 3rd, 2020 at 2:50 PM Election Project
28% of votes were cast by mail in the 2016 presidential election
Reuters/Ipsos polling of Florida finds that Trump and Biden are in a close race in the state.
Vote history
Do they count votes as they come in or after election day?
Officials began processing absentee votes on October 12.
Is early voting and wide-scale absentee voting a new thing?
Florida has allowed voters to vote by mail for any reason since 2002. The state has a long history of close races and ballot rejections influencing the outcome, particularly the 2000 election where Gore lost to Bush in Florida by about 500 votes after multiple recounts.
Did they have any problems counting votes in the primary?
Florida saw historic turnout in their primary driven largely by mail-in voting. Over the summer, 1.5% of mail ballots were rejected in the primary. A majority of rejected ballots were not counted because the polling place received them after the primary deadline. In Miami Dade county a quarter of mailed ballots were rejected in the primary.
Any new laws that expand or restrict people's voting rights?
Florida recently expanded voting rights to felons. At the completion of their full sentence—including probation and parole—people formerly incarcerated for felonies can vote. While felons can vote, new limits have been put on this groups right to vote. The state of Florida won the right to force formerly incarcerated people to pay all outstanding court fines before having their voting rights restored. The ruling takes the right to vote away from approximately 800,000 people.
What will lead to a mail in ballot getting thrown out?
Incorrect voter information, voter signatures that do not match with signatures the state has on file, or a ballot not filled out properly can be grounds for throwing a ballot out. Florida state law does let voters cure their ballots, meaning that they may correct a mistake on their ballot, such as a missing signature, so that the ballot can be counted. Voters have until the afternoon of November 5th to fix any mistake on their ballot.
Florida bans ballot harvesting, meaning a person’s immediate family can deliver their ballot on their behalf. There are exceptions for people with disabilities or who can’t read or write in English.
What are rules around a recount?
If any county is within 0.5% or less a machine recount is automatically triggered. A margin of victory in a county that is within 0.25% or less triggers a hand recount. Florida does not allow for requested recounts
