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Florida Executive Order 24-234 extended early voting in Pinellas and Taylor Counties beyond the normal deadline to tabulate early voting ballots due to Hurricanes Helene and Milton. This change may result in changes to the posted results after they would otherwise be stable or delays in the posting of early voting results for these counties.
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In Florida, there are three primary types of voting: vote-by-mail, in-person early voting, and voting on Election Day. Despite the difference in voter experience, all ballots go through similar checks to ensure the voter is eligible, that their identity is confirmed by providing identification at some step in the process, and finally, through confirmation of signature matching.
In Florida, most vote-by-mail ballots must be received by the Supervisor of Elections by 7 p.m., local time, on Election Day or Tuesday, November 5, 2024. Fla. Stat. § 101.64(5). However, there is an exception for “absent uniformed services voter or an overseas voter” ballots which must be postmarked no later than Election Day, and must be received within 10 days of Election Day or by Friday, November 15, 2024. Fla. Stat. § 101.6952(5).
In Florida, pre-processing includes the receipt of the voted vote-by-mail ballot, confirmation the voter completed the voter certificate, an identification review for voters who have not previously provided ID in a Florida election, signature matching, opening the mailing envelopes, mixing the secrecy envelopes so it is “impossible to determine which secrecy envelope came out of which signed mailing envelope,” and scanning them through the tabulation machines, and printing vote totals with results. Fla. Stat. § 101.68(2)(d); “From Examination to Tabulation” at 2.
The earliest that a county in Florida can begin pre-processing is 40 days before the election, or Thursday, September 26, 2024. That start date is dependent on when a county chooses to begin offering early voting to its citizens, and when the County Canvassing Board conducts its public logic and accuracy tests on the automatic tabulating equipment. Fla. Stat. §§ 101.657(1)(d), 101.5612(2), 101.68(2)(a). [1] If counties choose to put off pre-processing, they must begin no later than noon on the day after the election or Wednesday, November 6, 2024. Fla. Stat. § 101.68(2)(a).
Whether a Supervisor of Elections receives vote-by-mail ballots through the mail or when it comes back from a secure ballot intake station, [2] the Supervisor checks the ballot in by recording receipt of the ballot and confirming the voter is eligible to cast a vote in this election. Fla. Stat. § 101.68(2)(a). After that, best practices suggest the County Canvassing Board host an “orientation meeting and adopt[] a set of criteria that will be used for canvassing the vote-by-mail ballots.” “2020 Florida Canvassing Board Manual” at 11. The benefit of setting that criteria early is that the staff of the Supervisor of Elections “can pre-sort the vote-by-mail ballots in categories based on the criteria adopted by the board … [to] make the actual canvass of the ballots much smoother and quicker.” “2020 Florida Canvassing Board Manual” at 11. In between these pre-processing activities, the Supervisor of Elections must keep “the ballot unopened until the county canvassing board canvasses the vote." “2020 Florida Canvassing Board Manual” at 11.
For individuals who registered by mail to be a voter, and have never previously voted in Florida, and who do not have a Florida driver's license, Florida identification card, or a Social Security number, then their vote-by-mail ballots must go through an extra step to check voter ID directly. Fla. Stat. § 97.0535(1). These ballots are known as “special vote-by-mail ballots.” Fla. Stat. § 101.6921(1); see also Fla. Stat. § 97.0535(1).
Voters in this category must either provide identification with their ballot or indicate on the Voter’s Certificate that they are exempt from the identification requirements. Fla. Stat. § 101.6925(1). Therefore, when a Supervisor of Elections receives a voted special vote-by-mail ballot, the Supervisor of Elections must open the mailing envelope to determine if the voter has met this requirement. Fla. Stat. § 101.6925(1). If the voter has met this requirement, then the Supervisor of Elections makes a note of that in the voter’s registration records, and proceeds to canvass the vote-by-mail ballot like any other vote-by-mail ballot received. Fla. Stat. § 101.6925(2).
In cases where a voter does not meet these requirements, the Supervisor of Elections must check the voter registration records to see if they can otherwise confirm the voter has met identify requirements or exemption criteria. Fla. Stat. § 101.6925(3). If the Supervisor of Elections does not discover any previous activities that would resolve the issue in the voter’s favor, the envelope with the Voter’s Certificate cannot be opened unless the necessary identification is later received, or the voter later indicates that they are exempt from the identification requirements. Fla. Stat. § 101.6925(3). Therefore, this ballot is treated as if it is a provisional ballot, unless the Supervisor of Elections receives the necessary information from the voter by 5 p.m. (local time) on the second day following the election, or Thursday, November 7, 2024, in which case the ballot will be treated like any other vote-by-mail ballot. Fla. Stat. § 101.6925(3).
Florida requires the signature on an individual’s voter’s certificate that is submitted along with a vote-by-mail ballot to be compared with the signature of that individual in the voter registration records. See Fla. Stat. § 101.68(1)(a). The County Canvassing Board is primarily responsible for signature matching and has final authority on deciding whether a ballot will be counted. Fla. Admin. Code Ann. r. 1S-2.056(3)(b). However, the Supervisor of Elections, “who serves as one of the members of the [County] [C]anvassing [B]oard, may perform preparatory signature verification to assist” the County Canvassing Board. Fla. Admin. Code Ann. r. 1S-2.056(2).
As a part of the signature matching process, the Supervisor of Elections and the County Canvassing Board have the discretion to use automated signature verification technology to assist in the review process for vote-by-mail ballot certificates and provisional ballot certificates, but “the technology cannot replace the duties and responsibilities” of the Supervisor of Elections or the County Canvassing Board’s “duty as the final authority as to whether a signature is verified on a ballot certificate or cure affidavit.” Fla. Admin. Code Ann. r. 1S-2.056(2). If the voter has already presented identification, a signature match indicates that the individual is “duly registered in the county.” Fla. Stat. § 101.68(1)(a). After confirming that the voter had not already cast a ballot, the Supervisor of Elections makes a note in the voter’s registration record that the voter has voted. Fla. Stat. § 101.68(1)(a).
Additional details on required standards for signature matching are detailed in the statute and administrative code. See Fla. Stat. § 101.68; see also Fla. Admin. Code rr. 1S-2.056(3)(a), 1S-2.056(1).
Before the signature matching can occur, the Supervisor of Elections must first publish notice of the meeting or meetings when signature comparisons will be conducted on vote-by-mail ballots. Fla. Stat. § 101.572(2). After the 2020 election, the Florida legislature enacted this extra notice requirement before the Secretary of Elections may begin the pre-processing of vote-by-mail ballots. See Fla. Stat. § 101.572(2). So far, it appears that Supervisors of Election have been able to respond to this new requirement by simply incorporating the notice into other notices that are already required to be published when a canvassing meeting will be conducted. See, e.g., “Duval County Public Notice of Canvassing Board meetings,” “Miami-Dade County Public Notice of Canvassing Board meetings,” “Nassau County Public Notice of Canvassing Board meetings,” “Osceola County Canvassing Board Calendar,” and “Palm Beach County Public Notice of Canvassing Board meetings”; see also Fla. Stat. § 102.141(2)(a). Nevertheless, because the public notice requirement is new for this presidential election cycle, it remains to be seen what impact it might have on the ability of Supervisors of Elections to be able to complete the critical step of pre-processing vote-by-mail ballots.