TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — The Leon County Supervisor of Elections office is gearing up to send out vote-by-mail ballots beginning in July.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, they anticipate a drop-off in poll workers as well as volunteers and a growing dissatisfaction with social distancing regulations on the day of elections.
To counter that, they sent 170,000 postcards asking residents to vote-by-mail.
The cards went out in three phases and, so far, about 3,000 have been returned.
The deputy supervisor of elections, Christopher Moore, says voters should come to grips with the possibility that some polling locations may not be available on election day.
"Vote by mail or to come out and vote early at the sites that we know will be open throughout the county for the 14 days of early voting," said Moore. "So, if you are someone who normally waits to vote at the polls on election day, for this election that is probably the most risky option you can choose."
They are hoping for an 80 percent return rate and are currently bringing in more staff to handle the increased vote-by-mail processing.
The Elections Office is still receiving about 600 vote-by-mail requests a day. The deadline to submit is August 10.
