News Release

Vote-By-Mail Ballot Requests

Indian River County, FL – Florida election law requires that vote-by-mail ballots are only available upon request.  Ballots are not mailed to every registered voter.

In 2020 during the COVID 19 pandemic, the number of vote-by-mail ballot requests increased by an astounding 98%. Over 55,000 ballots were requested by Indian River County voters during the 2020 Presidential Election.  A large majority of voters opted not to vote in person in order to limit contact with other individuals.

Political parties and advocacy groups sent out massive mailings of vote-by-mail ballot request forms with voter’s personal information pre-populated on the forms.  The forms were convenient to voters because all that was required to request a mail ballot was for the voter to sign and date the form and return it to the Supervisor of Elections office.  Most of these request forms submitted to the Elections Office, the voter did not designate the ballot for a specific election; therefore, the mail ballot request was valid through two general election cycles per Florida law.

During the 2021 legislative session, SB 90 was passed, which limits the time period that a vote-by-mail request is valid.  The new law stipulates that the maximum length of time a mail ballot request is valid is through one general election cycle.  All requests for mail ballots will now expire on December 31, 2022 and voters will have to renew their request either on-line at voteindianriver.gov, or by calling or emailing the Supervisor of Elections office.  Voters must provide either their Florida Driver License number, Florida ID card number, or the last four digits of their social security number to confirm their identity in order to request a mail ballot.

If a voter would like to cancel their existing vote-by-mail ballot request, please contact the Elections Office at 772-226-4700 and the request will be removed from your voter record.

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