LAKE COUNTY, Fla. – Early voting starts Monday, Oct. 21 in most Central Florida counties, with Sumter County kicking off on Tuesday.
Many probably may not have voted since the last presidential election, so it’s time for a refresher.
The Lake County Supervisor of Elections Alan Hays gave News 6 a walk-through to get ready for the polls.
“First thing you’ll do is come over here to the electronic poll book. We call it our EVID. You’ll present your identification to the inspector here. They will verify your name, your address. You’ll see the picture is you indeed. Then they will push a button and then your ballot will be printed right here. It’s what we call ballot on demand,” said Hays.
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Once you get your ballot, you head to a privacy booth to mark the ballot.
After that, you stick it in the tabulation machine, get your “I Voted” sticker, then you’re done.
“If you’re choosing to vote by mail, we encourage folks to enroll in a program called Ballot Trax,” Hays said. “It notifies you when the ballot has been mailed to you, when we have received the ballot and if there any issues with your signature, not matching it notifies you immediately and tells you what you need to do to solve that situation.”
Hays said they’ve already received more than 13,000 mail ballots as of Sunday. He also said there’s also other measures in place to secure ballots at on-site.
“The tabulation machine number one you can see here it’s sealed with barcode and numbered seals. Every aspect of the machine is sealed, waiting for the clerk to come in tomorrow and open them up and they’ll be checking to serial numbers that we have issued to them to make sure these haven’t been tampered with,” said Hays.
They also have voting equipment for people with special needs.
“This is the express vote machine for those who are visually impaired. We have a braille pad. They’re able to mark their choices and the ballot is read to them through a set of headphones that we plug in here,” said Hays.
Hays said it is important to know that you may need some extra time filling out those ballots, especially since we have six amendments on the ballot this year.
He also said if you plan to vote by mail, don’t wait till the last minute get your ballot in now.
If you want to check what’s happening in your area, over to the News 6 Voter Guide by clicking here.