JACKSONVILLE, Fla — Ballots are rejected each election year due to voters forgetting to sign the vote-by-mail return envelope or their signature does not match the one on file.
That’s why Supervisor of Elections officials say it is important to write your phone number and email on the envelope, so if there is a problem they can contact you quickly to resolve it.
“We have a process for that,” St. Johns County Supervisor of Elections Vicky Oakes explained. “It’s called 'the cure,' and any voter’s ballot that is questionable, we reach out to them. If we have a phone number for them, we call them. If we have an email address, we email them. We drop a note in the mail to them along with an affidavit that tells them exactly what they have to do to cure their ballot and have it count.”
According to the Florida Division of Elections website, "A Supervisor of Elections is required to notify a voter as soon as it is practical if a voter's signature is missing or does not match the one on record."
Voters can complete and return a “Vote-by-Mail Ballot Cure” Affidavit along with a copy of their identification by mail, email, fax, or in person. In Florida, you have until 5 p.m. two days after the election to complete and return a cure affidavit to make sure your ballot is counted.
You can track your vote-by-mail ballot online through your county's Supervisor of Elections Office to see when it is counted. Ballots must be requested by Oct. 24, 2020, and returned by 7 p.m. Nov. 3, 2020.