ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – As election day nears, several elections supervisors in Central Florida said that they expect a record number of votes to be cast in the 2020 presidential election.
Orange County Supervisor of Elections Bill Cowles said more than 235,000 people have already returned their mail-in ballots, with another 181,000 people who participated in in-person early voting.
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Cowles said he expects another 100,000 people to vote in-person in Orange County prior to early voting ending on Sunday night.
“While the percentage may stay the same, the total of ballots voted will be the highest we’ve ever seen here in Orange County,” Cowles said.
Osceola County Supervisor of Elections, Mary Jane Arrington said that about 70,000 of nearly 100,000 requested mail-in ballots have already been returned.
“We’ve never seen anything like this as far as volume of mail ballots and they are coming back. People are using the drop boxes at the early voting sites and we are getting a couple thousand every day in the mail,” Arrington said.
Marion County Supervisor of Elections, Wesley Wilcox said that his county is already nearing a 60% voter turn-out with early and mail-in ballots. He said that if only 20% of voters turn out on Tuesday, it would still likely create an all-time voting record in the county.
“I think every polling place that opens up in the state of Florida, on Tuesday at 7 a.m. are going to have people in line,” Wilcox said.
In Lake County, Supervisor of Elections Alan Hays said of the 90,000 requested mail-in ballots, about 60,000 have already been returned. Hays said that he expects another 65,000 people to cast their vote in person on Tuesday.
“The big thing is our dedicated election workers there in the precincts and early voting cites are very well prepared and very well trained and dedicated to a very high level of excellence,” said Hays.
Cowles said that once early voting ends on Sunday at 8 p.m., voters can still drop off their mail-in ballot at a drop-box located at the Supervisor of Elections Office on Kaley Avenue.
Elections officials also said that they have been attempting to notify anyone who submitted a ballot with an error, in order to have it corrected and be counted.