Whether you’re a first-time voter or not, the process can often be a complicated one. On Monday, just a day after early voting ended, some locals in Broward County showed up at an early voting site confused as to why it was closed.
For the past two weeks, registered voters were able to cast their ballot at any early voting site in their county. For those in Broward, the Woman’s Club was one of those locations, but that ended on Sunday.
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Officials told NBC6 that several voters showed up on Monday without knowing that if they had not voted between the early voting period of Oct. 21 to Nov. 3, they would need to wait a day to vote on Election Day.
“On that day, after early voting ends, a lot of people show up to vote in person at our early voting sites,” said Supervisor of Elections Joe Scott.
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Broward County had 29 early voting sites and voters were able to pick whichever one and cast their vote in person or drop their mail-in ballot. Unlike early in-person voting, those who cast ballots on Election Day must go to their assigned polling location.
“Today there’s actually no in-person voting, but you can drop off your vote by mail ballot at nine office locations,” Scott said on Monday.
You can return your completed vote-by-mail ballot securely through the mail to your Supervisor of Elections Office or in person at designated secure ballot intake stations (drop boxes). For your vote to count, your Supervisor of Election must receive your voted ballot no later than 7 p.m. on Election Day.
Local
On Monday, some voters stopped near Wilton Manors City Hall after seeing a poster sign that referenced Nov. 4 and Nov. 5 and indicated the polling place would be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. But directly above those dates and times, the sign stated in bold, "Early voting has ended. Please vote at your assigned precinct."
“If one person is confused, that’s one person too many, and we want to make sure that we make the sign as clear as possible, so we are making a modification,” Scott said.
The sign appeared to be gone once NBC6 got the tip.
Though Scott said early voting sites have turned into so-called information locations with volunteers assisting anyone who needs help.
“Florida law makes some of these voting things pretty complicated and our job is to do what we can to communicate all of these things to the voters,” he said.
Election Day is Nov. 5. If you haven’t already voted, make sure to check your assigned polling location. Click here to find your polling place in Broward County.
