Voting in Florida 2020: Tampa Bay area election guide

Fact vs fiction: Vote-by-mail in Florida

Craig Patrick reports

TAMPA, Fla. - Experts say the 2020 election in Florida is not going to be like any election in the Sunshine State before. With more vote-by-mail ballots than ever, it’s not clear when we’ll even know who the winner of the 2020 election is.

To make sure your vote counts, there are several things to know about early voting in Florida and voting by mail in 2020. Here are the basics; scroll down the page for your specific county information.

KEY FLORIDA VOTING DATES:

Registration deadline: Monday, October 5 at 5 p.m. Florida Law requires the voter registration books to close 29 days before each election.

Last day to request a mail-in ballot: Saturday, October 24 at 5 p.m. Florida law says mail-in ballots must be requested by 5 p.m. the 10th day before the election

First day that mail-in ballots are sent out: September 24. Florida law says mail-in ballots are to be sent 40 to 33 days before the election, with military/overseas no later than 45 days before the election.

Mail-in ballots must arrive by: November 3 at 7 p.m. The date on which your ballot is postmarked is irrelevant; it must arrive at the elections office by 7 p.m. the night of the election. You can deliver it by hand if you forget to mail it in time.

What to know about voting by mail in Florida

There are some issues that can affect your vote – issues that did impact about 1.5 percent of the votes in the August primary.

FLORIDA AMENDMENTS EXPLAINED:

VOTING BY MAIL

Democrats, Republicans, and supervisors of elections agree that voting by mail in Florida is safe and secure. Years ago, Florida absentee ballots were phased out in favor of vote-by-mail for all who request it. And in Florida, you have to specifically request a mail-in order to receive one -- which means there is a paper trail -- and no randomly mailing everyone a ballot.

You can track the status of your mail-in vote online, just like you do for an Amazon order. Each county has a unique link; check your supervisor of elections website for information. Details are below.

CITRUS COUNTY:

Early voting begins: October 19
Early voting ends: October 31
Early voting locations: https://www.votecitrus.com/Vote-by-Mail-and-Early-Voting/2020-Early-Voting-Schedule
Vote-by-mail tracking link: https://www.votecitrus.com/Voter-Lookup-Form
Where to drop off your vote-by-mail ballot by hand (if desired): Drop box open 24/7 at 1500 N. Meadowcrest Blvd. in Crystal River
Supervisor of elections website link: https://www.votecitrus.com/

DESOTO COUNTY:

Early voting begins: October 19
Early voting ends: October 31
Early voting location: 201 E. Oak Street, Room 104, Arcadia, FL 34266
Vote-by-mail tracking link: https://www.votedesoto.com/Voter-Info/My-Voter-Information
Where to drop off your vote-by-mail ballot by hand (if desired): To be announced.
Supervisor of elections website link: https://www.votedesoto.com/

HARDEE COUNTY:

Early voting begins: October 22
Early voting ends: October 31
Early voting location: Hardee County Public Library Meeting Room; 315 N. 6th Ave., Wauchula, FL; 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Vote-by-mail tracking link: https://www.hardeecountyelections.com/Absentee-Ballot/Check-my-Absentee-Ballot-Status
Where to drop off your vote-by-mail ballot by hand (if desired): Supervisor of Elections office; 311N. 6th Ave., Wauchula, FL 33873
Supervisor of elections website link: https://www.hardeecountyelections.com/

HERNANDO COUNTY:

Early voting begins: October 19
Early voting ends: October 31
Early voting locations: https://www.hernandovotes.com/Election-Info/Early-Voting-Locations
Vote-by-mail tracking link: https://www.hernandovotes.com/Voters/Voter-Lookup-Tool
Where to drop off your vote-by-mail ballot by hand (if desired): https://www.hernandovotes.com/Vote-By-Mail-Drop-Boxes
Supervisor of elections website link: https://www.hernandovotes.com/

HIGHLANDS COUNTY:

Early voting begins: October 22
Early voting ends: October 31
Early voting locations: https://www.votehighlands.com/Early-Voting
Vote-by-mail tracking link: https://www.votehighlands.com/Vote-by-Mail-VBM/VBM-Ballot-Tracking
Where to drop off your vote-by-mail ballot by hand (if desired): Sebring DMV; 540 S Commerce Ave. in Sebring, and at all early voting locations
Supervisor of elections website link: https://www.votehighlands.com/

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY:

Early voting begins: October 19
Early voting ends: November 1
Early voting locations: https://www.votehillsborough.org/VOTERS/Early-Voting
Vote-by-mail tracking link: https://www.votehillsborough.org/VOTERS/Track-Your-Ballot
Where to drop off your vote-by-mail ballot by hand (if desired): https://www.votehillsborough.org/VOTERS/Vote-By-Mail
Supervisor of elections website link: https://www.votehillsborough.org/

MANATEE COUNTY:

Early voting begins: October 19
Early voting ends: November 1
Early voting locations: https://www.votemanatee.com/Vote-By-Mail-Early-Voting/Early-Voting
Vote-by-mail tracking link: https://www.votemanatee.com/Vote-By-Mail-Early-Voting/Track-Your-Vote-By-Mail-Ballot
Where to drop off your vote-by-mail ballot by hand (if desired): The Supervisor of Elections office or any early voting site.
Supervisor of elections website link: https://www.votemanatee.com/

PASCO COUNTY:

Early voting begins: October 19
Early voting ends: October 31
Early voting locations: https://www.pascovotes.gov/Early-Voting/Early-Voting-Schedule
Vote-by-mail tracking link: https://www.pascovotes.gov/TrackYourBallot
Where to drop off your vote-by-mail ballot by hand (if desired): You can drop off at an early voting site or one of the three elections’ office locations, but you may not turn in at the polls on Election Day.
Supervisor of elections website link: https://www.pascovotes.gov/

PINELLAS COUNTY:

Early voting begins: October 19
Early voting ends: November 1
Early voting locations: https://www.votepinellas.com/Election-Information/Early-Voting
Vote-by-mail tracking link: https://www.votepinellas.com/Mail-Ballots/Check-My-Mail-Ballot-Status
Where to drop off your vote-by-mail ballot by hand (if desired): Completed ballots may dropped off at any of three elections offices.
Supervisor of elections website link: https://www.votepinellas.com/

POLK COUNTY:

Early voting begins: October 19
Early voting ends: November 1
Early voting locations: https://www.polkelections.com/Voter-Services/Early-Voting
Vote-by-mail tracking link: https://registration.elections.myflorida.com/CheckVoterStatus
Where to drop off your vote-by-mail ballot by hand (if desired): Up until 7 p.m. on Election Day you can turn it in at Supervisor of Elections office. Or, if you decide to vote at your precinct, take the ballot and turn it in and vote a precinct ballot.
Supervisor of elections website link: https://www.polkelections.com/

SARASOTA COUNTY:

Early voting begins: October 19
Early voting ends: November 1
Early voting locations: https://www.sarasotavotes.com/content.aspx?id=128
Vote-by-mail tracking link: https://www.precinctfind.com/ab_status/ab_status_sar.php?op=lookup
Where to drop off your vote-by-mail ballot by hand (if desired): Vote-by-mail ballots may be returned to secure drop boxes located inside all supervisor of elections offices and all early voting locations.
Supervisor of elections website link: https://www.sarasotavotes.com/

SUMTER COUNTY:

Early voting begins: October 20
Early voting ends: October 31
Early voting locations: https://www.sumterelections.org/Maps/Sumter-County-Maps
Vote-by-mail tracking link: https://www.sumterelections.org/Voters/Review-My-Registration-Status--Voter-Lookup
Where to drop off your vote-by-mail ballot by hand (if desired): You can turn your ballot into one of the designated drop-off boxes that will be located at each of the early voting sites, or the Wildwood office or the Bushnell office.
Supervisor of elections website link: https://www.sumterelections.org/