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President Donald Trump says that voting by mail is “horrible” and “corrupt” because the “tremendous potential for voter fraud” helps Democrats win elections. But county-level election supervisors in his home state of Florida — where he recently cast a vote for himself, by mail — disagree, and are doing everything they can to ensure this crucial swing state can hold a safe election during the coronavirus pandemic.
While Florida isn’t prepared to hold an all vote-by-mail election, Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties, the three most populous counties in the state, plan to send absentee vote-by-mail registration forms to every registered voter ahead of the state’s August primary and November’s general election. Many more counties have increased their outreach efforts to residents with mailers, postcards and public information campaigns in order to radically increase vote-by-mail sign-ups. A handful are planning to provide prepaid postage for voters to return their ballots.
Two counties, Santa Rosa and Citrus, even used emergency alert systems to text residents to encourage them to sign up to vote by mail. Citrus’s text went out to 107,000 residents, netting 2,200 new vote-by-mail sign-ups.
“Certainly every election cycle we reach out to voters giving them the options they have in the method of voting,” Susan Gill, supervisor of elections for Citrus County, in the west-central part of the state, said in an email. “This cycle it is more urgent.”
Allowing citizens to vote by mail was already important, in order to allow people who can’t make it to the polls on Election Day to still exercise their rights. But this year, with the coronavirus pandemic and social distancing measures designed to counter its spread, mail-in ballots are all the more vital. Multiple states postponed primaries because of the pandemic. Illinois and Wisconsin held theirs ― which resulted in multiple positive cases of coronavirus and at least one death linked to in-person voting. The November election can’t be postponed, so state and local election officials will need to ensure that voters are both aware of, and able to use, safe options to cast their ballots.
Florida is one of 34 states that either allows residents to vote absentee by mail for any reason or conducts all-mail elections. It is very easy to obtain an absentee ballot in Florida, election officers say. Voters can apply online, through the mail or over the phone. They then receive absentee ballots for the next four elections before having to renew their absentee ballot request.
While Florida isn’t prepared to hold an all vote-by-mail election, Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties, the three most populous counties in the state, plan to send absentee vote-by-mail registration forms to every registered voter ahead of the state’s August primary and November’s general election. Many more counties have increased their outreach efforts to residents with mailers, postcards and public information campaigns in order to radically increase vote-by-mail sign-ups. A handful are planning to provide prepaid postage for voters to return their ballots.
Two counties, Santa Rosa and Citrus, even used emergency alert systems to text residents to encourage them to sign up to vote by mail. Citrus’s text went out to 107,000 residents, netting 2,200 new vote-by-mail sign-ups.
“Certainly every election cycle we reach out to voters giving them the options they have in the method of voting,” Susan Gill, supervisor of elections for Citrus County, in the west-central part of the state, said in an email. “This cycle it is more urgent.”
Allowing citizens to vote by mail was already important, in order to allow people who can’t make it to the polls on Election Day to still exercise their rights. But this year, with the coronavirus pandemic and social distancing measures designed to counter its spread, mail-in ballots are all the more vital. Multiple states postponed primaries because of the pandemic. Illinois and Wisconsin held theirs ― which resulted in multiple positive cases of coronavirus and at least one death linked to in-person voting. The November election can’t be postponed, so state and local election officials will need to ensure that voters are both aware of, and able to use, safe options to cast their ballots.
Florida is one of 34 states that either allows residents to vote absentee by mail for any reason or conducts all-mail elections. It is very easy to obtain an absentee ballot in Florida, election officers say. Voters can apply online, through the mail or over the phone. They then receive absentee ballots for the next four elections before having to renew their absentee ballot request.
