Florida Voting by Obama Campaign Part 2 of 3: Voting by Mail

PART 2 IN A SERIES: VOTING BY MAIL IN FLORIDA

Voting by Mail: The Basics
ANY REGISTERED VOTER CAN VOTE BY MAIL! If a voter is not already registered to vote, they must do so before requesting a ballot to vote by mail. Voting by mail is a great way to get our votes in early, to make sure they are counted, and provides an opportunity for those away from home on Election Day to vote.
DEADLINES: Legally, the Supervisor of Elections for your county must receive requests for a ballot no later than 5:00 PM on Wednesday, October 29. For our purposes, we are urging all voters to turn in applications by Friday, October 24. Voted ballots must be returned no later than 7:00 PM on Election Day, which is Tuesday, November 4.

How to Get a Ballot:
How to request a ballot to vote by mail? A voter can request a ballot from their county’s Supervisor of Elections in person, by mail, over the phone, email, or in some cases through the county’s Supervisor of Elections website. To request a ballot, the required information is:
Name
Address (including zip code) where you live
Address (including zip code) where the ballot should be mailed to you
Date of birth
Florida drivers’ license number (if you have one)
Signature
In addition, providing a telephone number is not required, but is helpful in case any questions arise.
Can the voter request a ballot for a family member? YES! You may request a ballot for an immediate family member (spouse, child, parent, grandparent, sibling, or person for whom you are a legal guardian). The request can be made by phone, by mail, in person, email or in some cases through your county Supervisor of Elections website. They must provide the name, address, date of birth, and drivers’ license number (if they have one) both for the person requesting the ballot and for the person the ballot is for.
Can the campaign help request a ballot? YES! The campaign may provide voters with ballot request forms, and may return completed forms to the Supervisor of Elections. But the voter must fill out the information on the form himself or herself.

How to Vote Your Ballot:
How do you vote the ballot? Follow the instructions for marking the ballot to cast your vote. After marking the ballot, place it inside the secrecy envelope, and place the sealed secrecy envelope inside the larger mailing envelope. Be sure to fill out, sign, and date the “Voter’s Certificate” on the back of the mailing envelope. Then mail or deliver the sealed envelope to the address provided.
Can someone else deliver completed absentee ballots? YES! A person may deliver completed ballots to election officials on behalf of one or more voters. However, each voter must complete the ballot and sign the “voter’s certificate” for his or her own ballot.
Can a voter still vote in person instead? If a voter has already voted by mail, he or she cannot also vote in person. If they have NOT voted their ballot, they may still vote in person. However, after a voter has received a ballot to vote by mail, we are strongly encouraging them to vote with that ballot. If they decide to vote in person (either on Election Day or at an early voting location), they must remember to bring the un-marked mail ballot, and turn it in to the election officials. If the voter cannot find their ballot, they can still vote in person, but there is an increased chance of complications.

Florida Voting by Obama Campaign Part 1 of 3: Early Voting

Some of my readers may know that I volunteer with Voters Registration as well as Get-Out-the-Vote efforts with the Barack Obama Campaign for Change in Tampa Bay. I became energized to participate earlier this year after watching Obama at his "Rally with Barack Obama" in Tampa, Florida on May 22nd at St Pete Times Forum. I've met several of the field organizers in the Tampa Bay area--each one is responsible for hundreds of volunteers and paid staffers in geographical areas of Florida, and also attended Barack Obama Campaign for Change, Florida HQ Opening in Ybor City (July 16), Downtown Tampa (August 5), and Plant City/Lakeland (October 11, 9am-12pm), and attended debate watch parties for the first time in my life.

When I went to the Campaign for Change organizing meeting last Saturday for people in Lakeland/Plant City, we met at a huge Plant City warehouse called the Ruthvens. There were over 200 people in attendance and the atmosphere was electric. We were Black, White, Hispanic, and everything in between. People walked around talking to new friends that they might not normally interact with on a regular day, bought campaign memorabilia, signed early voting pledges, listened to popular music tracks with Obama messages, read campaign materials and more. About 10am, the meeting started and the field organizer, Max and his staff, Ellie, Sam & Lexi took turns telling their stories about how they got involved with the Obama campaign, running a slideshow, talking about the organizing and field operations, and encouraging volunteers on how important our grass roots efforts are in turning Florida for Obama neighborhood by neighborhood, city by city. We were also given voting information on Early Voting, Florida Voting Myths, GOTV, and Voting by Mail. Since one of my focuses until the Presidential election on November 4 is voter awareness, I thought I would share a series of posts on Florida voting rules, sent by Max our field organizer.

EARLY VOTING IN FLORIDA:

REGISTER TO VOTE if you haven’t already. You can print a form here and mail it in: http://election.dos.state.fl.us/pdf/webappform.pdf If you have a Florida driver’s license, be sure to copy your name and license number onto the form exactly as it appears on the card. Your registration form must be postmarked or delivered by Monday, October 6. Call your Supervisor of Elections before Election Day to be sure you are registered, and to find out where to vote. You can also find your polling place by visiting http://www.voteforchange.com

YOU CAN VOTE BEFORE ELECTION DAY BY EARLY VOTING:
Early voting locations are open from Monday, October 20 until Sunday, November 2. Please http://www.voteforchange.com to find early voting locations in your county.
Voting at an early vote location allows you to vote exactly the same way you vote on election day.

WHAT TO BRING:
Bring your driver’s license or other current identification card showing your picture and your signature. (If your picture ID does not have your signature, show another ID that has your signature). You need this to vote on a regular ballot.
If you do not have a valid picture ID, or if you are not allowed to vote for another reason, you have a right to vote on a “provisional ballot.” Your provisional ballot will be counted if your signature matches your voter registration signature and if you are otherwise eligible to vote. You will fill out and sign a special form provided by the poll officials.

HOW TO VOTE:
You will vote the same ballot you would have voted on Election Day.
Depending on which county you live in, you will vote on a “marksense” paper ballot by either filling in a “bubble” or connecting an arrow. Disabled voters may also vote on a special touch-screen machine.
If you make a mistake when voting your ballot, ask for a replacement. You may receive up to two replacements, or a total of three ballots.

WHY EARLY VOTE?
SHORTER LINES
If you have a problem voting, and need to vote a provisional ballot, you will have more time to fix the problem.
You can vote at any early vote location in your county.