MANATEE COUNTY – The Manatee County Supervisor of Elections Office is taking steps to minimize the impacts back-to-back hurricanes have on the general election that concludes Nov. 5, with vote-by-mail ballots already being cast and in-person early voting beginning Monday.
On Friday, the elections office issued a press release on behalf of acting Supervisor of Elections James Satcher.
“Despite these challenging times, we know that Manatee County is a resilient community. Our priority is to make sure you can exercise your right to vote in this important upcoming election,” Satcher said in the press release.
“For those committed to voting in person, we encourage you to take advantage of our eight early voting locations that were not impacted and remain the same. You can find these locations at www.VoteManatee.gov. Early voting begins on Monday, Oct. 21, and runs through Saturday, Nov. 2, from 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.,” the press release says.
The press release notes five polling locations were directly impacted by the hurricanes and the following changes have been made for in-person voting on Nov. 5.
- Precinct 301 voters in Anna Maria and Precinct 305 voters in Holmes Beach will vote at the Island Branch Library in Holmes Beach, 5701 Marina Dr.
- Precinct 307 voters in Bradenton Beach will now vote in Longboat Key at the Longboat Island Chapel, 6200 Gulf of Mexico Drive.
- Precinct 409 voters in Bradenton will vote at the State College of Florida in Bradenton, 5840 26th St. W.
- Precinct 421 voters in Bradenton will now vote at the Trailer Estates Recreation Hall in Bradenton, 6814 Canada Blvd.
Voters can visit the supervisor of elections website to verify their polling location.
Oct. 24 is the final day to request a mail ballot to be mailed to you and Nov. 5 is the final day to request a mail ballot for in-person pickup at the elections office, 600 301 Blvd. W. in Bradenton. If picking up a mail ballot in person, the elections office asks that you call in your ballot request ahead of time, if possible, at 941-741-3823, to expedite the process.
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An executive order issued by Gov. Ron DeSantis on Oct. 3 allows vote-by-mail ballots to be mailed to an address that is different than the address currently on file with the elections office. These types of vote-by-mail address changes can be done by e-mail or phone. In addition to maintaining a vote-by-mail request on file, you must provide your driver’s license number or social security number to verify the identity of the voter making the address change.
Completed mail ballots can also be dropped off at any early voting location or at the Supervisor of Elections Office.
Additional information
Regarding voters displaced by the hurricanes and voters unable to receive mail at their residence, the supervisor of elections website says the United States Post Office is delivering vote-by-mail ballots where possible and vote-by-mail ballots that cannot be delivered are being held at the voter’s local post office for pick up. Manatee voters affected in this manner can contact the elections office 941-741-3823 for assistance.
Regarding postage requirements, the elections website says, “The postage required to return a vote-by-mail ballot is $1.01. It is the voter’s responsibility to apply accurate postage on all mail, including vote-by-mail ballots. However, vote-by-mail are coded by USPS as special mail and will be delivered to the elections office without delay, no matter the postage applied.”
On Oct. 16, with supervisor-elect Scott Farrington observing as an audience member, the Manatee County Canvassing Board tested and certified the vote-by-mail and in-person ballot scanners to be used during the election and the new Clear Ballot audit system to be used to conduct a post-election audit of every ballot cast.
For more election-related information, visit www.VoteManatee.gov , the Manatee County Supervisor of Elections Facebook Page, call 941-741-3823 or email info@votemanatee.gov.
