For all intents and purposes, the presidential election began Monday in Miami-Dade County.
That’s because, the supervisor of elections said, the Elections Department mailed out 260,000 vote-by-mail ballots to voters who requested them. The process has begun, which means the election has begun.
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“As we all know, this is a very important election," said supervisor of elections Christina White. "You should be taking your time with this ballot, doing your research on the candidates. There’s also six constitutional questions that are all very important so you should do your research, but my advice for this election is do not wait – as soon as you get your ballot, do your research, return it to us as soon as possible. This is not an election where you want to do things at the last minute."
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White reminded users of absentee ballots to sign their names inside the red box on the outside of the ballot and to leave contact information on the ballot as well. That way, she said, if the signature doesn’t match the signature they have on file, they can contact the voter and correct the situation.
White also said the number of requested vote-by-mail ballots has gone down. In 2020, during the pandemic, her department mailed out more than 600,000 ballots, and in 2022, the number was 438,000 compared to the 260,000 this year.
“Low vote by mail numbers means a lot of people are gonna be voting in person. That means lines, and so what you’re gonna want to do is if you want to vote by mail make sure you do it now, do it early, or make a plan to vote early at one of our lower turnout sites,” White said.
Voters who receive a vote by mail ballot but don’t want to actually drop it in the mail have another option.
“So beginning October 21st, you can actually hand your ballot to an elections official at an early voting site. There will be 33 of them all throughout Miami-Dade County, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., you get your sticker, it is the perfect hybrid way of voting,” the supervisor said.
Anyone who’s expecting a vote by mail ballot but does not receive one in the next few days should call the elections department. A state law that went into effect in 2023 made all vote-by-mail requests expire, so voters must re-apply for an absentee ballot. Anyone who hasn’t registered at all to vote can still do so for the next six days.
