ORLANDO, Fla. – As election workers make final preparations for Election Day, Orange County’s Supervisor of Elections is answering last-minute questions for voters preparing to cast their ballots.
Bill Cowles said as of Monday his office has received 270,373 of the 341,903 requested vote-by-mail ballots. An additional 32,500 were swapped for ballots at early voting locations.
If a voter is still holding onto a vote-by-mail ballot, Cowles said it’s too late to send it in the mail.
“They have until 7 p.m. (Tuesday) night to either bring it (to the Supervisor of Elections Office) or they can take it to their polling place and exchange it for the right to vote at their polling place, but there are no drop boxes at the polling places on Election Day,” he said.
For anyone worried about making a mistake on their ballot at the polls, Cowles said voters have two opportunities to request a replacement ballot.
"Any voter who makes a mistake on their ballot, can request a new ballot and mark it there at the polling place,” Cowles said. “You’re allowed up to two replacement ballots. Kind of like the ‘three strikes’ baseball rule.”
While more than 61% of registered voters have already voted in Orange County, there still could be a possibility of long wait times. For anyone arriving near the time when polls close, Cowles urged voters to stay in line until their ballot is cast.
“The poll deputy goes to the end of the line at 7 p.m. and anybody in line still gets to vote. So, voting can still happen after 7 p.m. for those who might have been in line,” he said.
Cowles said workers at his office are available to answer any questions about Election Day. For more details, visit ocfelections.com.
Mary Jane Arrington Osceola County Supervisor of Elections said some poll works will be ready by 4:30 a.m.
“So we will be ready when the calls start coming in from voters and workers,” she said. We had a record turnout, we had almost 70,000 people and we’ve had a 62% turnout countywide with early voting and mail ballots."