ANNA MARIA ISLAND – Voters who requested mail-in ballots for the Nov. 3 election are reporting problems after ballots are sent in and the Manatee County Supervisor of Elections Office isn’t reaching out to fix them.
Anna Maria resident Gina Phillips said that after she sent in her mail-in ballot she used the Track Your Vote function on the Manatee County Supervisor of Elections Office website and noticed that out of the four-step tracking process, one of the indicators had turned red, indicating that there was an issue with her ballot. She reached out to the elections office and learned that there was an issue with her signature on the ballot, requiring the mailing and return of a “cure” affidavit along with copies of her identification and other paperwork to prove her identity. She said that no one from the elections office reached out to her to let her know that there was an issue with the mail-in ballot, leaving her worried that if she hadn’t been tracking it electronically she never would have known about the issue and her vote wouldn’t have been counted.
There are several reasons that a mail-in ballot could be rejected by the elections office or require additional information from the voter. Some of those reasons include the signature on the ballot not matching the one on file, the voter sending the ballot without adequate postage, ballots being mailed too late to be received by the elections office in time to be counted for the Nov. 3 election and the ballot not being filled out correctly.
When filling out your ballot, make sure to use only blue or black ink and fill in the circles completely without coloring outside the lines. Unless otherwise indicated, only vote for one selection in each area.
Once your ballot is completed, make sure to place it in the privacy shield before putting it in the return envelope. The privacy shield also serves as the instruction sheet for filling out the ballot.
Seal and sign the envelope in the indicated red box before sending it or returning the ballot to a drop-off location. Voters also must fill in their name in the voter’s certificate box on the back of the envelope.
Due to the size of the ballot, all mail-in ballots returned via the postal service require 70 cents in postage to be mailed. To make sure that your ballot is received at the elections office by 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 3, the postal service recommends mailing it no later than Oct. 24.
Ballots also can be dropped off at the elections ballot drop box located at the Manatee County Supervisor of Elections Office at 600 301 Blvd. W., Suite 108 in Bradenton. Ballots also can be dropped off at early voting locations between Oct. 19 and Nov. 1 from 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Early voting locations accepting mail-in ballot drop-offs include Lakewood Ranch Town Hall, the Palmetto library branch at 923 Sixth St. W., Rocky Bluff Library at 6750 U.S. Highway 301 N. in Ellenton, the Florida DOT Administration Office at 14000 S.R. 64 E. in Bradenton, and the Manatee County Utilities Administration Office at 4410 66th St. W. in Bradenton.
Mail-in ballot drop-offs will not be accepted at polling locations on Nov. 3 other than the Supervisor of Elections office.
To check the status of your mail-in ballot, visit the website. To check the status of your ballot and voter registration, enter your first name, last name and birthdate. Scroll down to the Current Election section where the status of your mail-in ballot will be displayed. If you’ve returned your ballot and all four of the indicators are blue or green, your ballot has been received and your vote counted with no issues. If any of the indicator numbers turns red, contact the supervisor of elections office as soon as possible to learn what the issue is and obtain the next steps to make sure your vote is counted.
To vote in person, check to make sure that the address on your driver’s license matches the address on your voter registration. If you’ve recently moved, a change to the address on your driver’s license won’t automatically change your voter registration. Make sure the two addresses match before going to vote in person.
In-person voting will take place Oct. 19 thru Nov. 1 with voting beginning the day of the election at 7 a.m. and closing at 7 p.m. In Anna Maria, voters can cast their in-person ballot at Roser Memorial Community Church, 512 Pine Ave. Bradenton Beach voters can go in person to the Bradenton Beach Fire Hall at 201 Second Ave. N., and Holmes Beach voters cast their in-person ballots at St. Bernard Catholic Church, 248 Harbor Drive S.
