LAUDERHILL, FLA. (WSVN) - With early voting set to start less than a week from Wednesday, both the elections departments in Miami-Dade and Broward counties are preparing for a record turnout of voters.
Early voting will start on Monday, but mail-in ballots have already been sent out. 7News cameras captured voters dropping off their mail-in ballots at the Miami-Dade Elections Department, at 2700 NW 87 Ave., on Wednesday afternoon.
“We have mailed out a historic number of vote-by-mail ballots already — over 610,000,” said Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections Christina White.
“I’m expecting we’ll have between 400,000 to 500,000 vote-by-mail ballots,” Broward Supervisor of Elections Peter Antonacci said.
Out of the two million who have already voted in this year’s election, more than 320,000 live in South Florida.
All voters are asked to come wearing a mask when dropping off their ballot or when coming to early vote starting next week. The Miami-Dade Elections Department is anticipating 80% of registered voters to show up.
“About 140,000 have already come back so far, so we are definitely voting,” White said. “Early voting is starting on Monday at 7 a.m., and my prediction for this election is around 80%, which is certainly historic here in Miami-Dade.”
Hand sanitizer is also available at the Doral building as election department officials are taking COVID-19 safety guidelines seriously amid the pandemic. All employees working in the election will also be wearing masks each day.
Miami-Dade Elections Department officials also said those who have a mail-in ballot should send it back as soon as possible.
Mail-in ballots can also be dropped off at early voting sites across Miami-Dade County. However, officials warn mail-in ballots cannot be dropped off on Election Day.
Those who attempt to do so will have to surrender their mail-in ballot and will then have to vote in-person to have a vote counted in the Nov. 3 election.
Also on Wednesday, the Miami-Dade Elections Department performed a Logic and Accuracy Test on the voting equipment that will be used in the general election.
“Our voting system is accurately programmed and tabulating exactly as it should,” White said.
In Broward County, votes are being tabulated, and the canvassing board is looking at ballot discrepancies.
Voters in the county have several options to make sure their ballot is counted, and one of the options is sending the ballot through the United States Postal Service. If voters wish to drop off their ballot, they can do so at an early voting location in their county once they open or to any county-designated drop-off site.
“Ninety percent of our 170,000 ballots have been delivered by the post office,” Antonacci said.
They can also track their ballots online to make sure their vote was counted. If there was an issue, they will have a few days after Election Day to correct the issue.
“You have until Thursday at 5 p.m. to correct it, and if you do so by the deadline, then we’re able to process it,” White said.
Florida will be able to start counting the early voting ballots on Thursday.
View the document below to review Miami-Dade County’s early voting schedule.
Voters in Broward County can drop off their mail-in ballot on Election Day at the two following locations:
- Governmental Center
115 S. Andrews Ave. Room #102
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301 - Lauderhill Office
Supervisor of Elections at Lauderhill Mall
1501 NW 40th Ave.
Lauderhill, FL, 33313
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