Florida Voters May Not Get Their Ballots on Time for Mail-In Voting

By Mary Anne R. First Posted: Aug 14, 2020 10:22 PM EDT

Many Florida voters have chosen mail-in voting due to the current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. However, their votes may not be counted come November presidential elections, postal officials warn.

Florida is among the state that received alerts from U.S. Postal Service General Counsel Thomas Marshall last month.

Marshall said 46 states, including Florida, could their mail-in ballot could conflict with the postal service's delivery schedule.

"This mismatch creates a risk that ballots requested near the deadline under state law will not be returned by mail in time to be counted under your laws as we understand them," Marshall said in a report.

Marshall further noted that some Florida law requirements do not match with the Postal Service's delivery standards.

County supervisors can send mail-in ballots to voters up to eight days before the election, according to the Florida law.Marshall said the postal service uses two types of mail when it comes to ballots: "First-Class Mail" and "USPS Marketing Mail."

First Class Mail is delivered two to five days after it is received, while USPS Marketing Mail is delivered three to 10 days after it is received.

Local elections officials use both classes of mail, according to Marshall. Marshall also observed that Florida law allows Florida voters to request mail-in ballots as late as 10 days before the election.

He warned that voters who wait that long may not have sufficient time to complete and mail the finished ballot back to election officials for it to arrive by the state's return deadline.

Secretary of State Laurel Lee said Florida voters have three options for voting: mail-in voting, early voting, or voting on Election Day.

Lee noted that her office is closely monitoring the delivery of mail-in ballots in Florida. She added that voters could hand-deliver mail-in ballots to the election supervisor's office.