Vote-by-mail, previously known as “Absentee Voting” is a convenient voting option available to all registered voters to receive and cast a paper ballot by mail. Voting by mail provides voters with the flexibility and convenience to vote from their homes or anywhere in the world.
No, any registered voter may request a vote-by-mail ballot.
A voter must have an active request on file with the Indian River County Supervisor of Elections to receive a vote-by-mail ballot. A vote-by-mail ballot may be requested for a specific election or for all elections through the end of the calendar year of the regularly next scheduled general election. To check the status of your mail ballot request, use our Check Your Mail Ballot Status or contact the Elections Office at 772-226-4700.
Any registered voter can request a mail ballot. If directly instructed by the voter, the voter's legal guardian, designee for a voter with a disability, or a member of the voter's immediate family (i.e., spouse, parent, child, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, parent of voter's spouse, child of voter's spouse, grandparent of voter's spouse, grandchild of voter's spouse, sibling of voter's spouse).
A request can be made for all elections through the next regularly scheduled general election. After that, you will need to renew your request.
Yes, a vote-by-mail ballot must be requested no later than 5 p.m. on the 12th day before Election Day in order for the Elections Office to mail the ballot to you.
A voter or legal guardian or immediate family member may request a vote-by-mail ballot in person, by phone, in writing or using the online request form. If the request is in-person or by phone, you must include your name, address, date of birth, Florida Driver License or Florida ID number or the last four digits of your social security number, whichever may be verified in the supervisor’s records. If the request is in writing, you must complete and sign the Statewide Vote-By-Mail Ballot Request Form which includes your name, address, date of birth, Florida Driver License or Florida ID number or the last four digits of your social security number, whichever may be verified in the supervisor’s records. For more information and for the Statewide Vote-By-Mail Request Form, visit our Request a Vote-By-Mail Ballot page.
Yes, you may request a vote-by-mail ballot to be mailed to anyone in your immediate family, anyone for whom you are a legal guardian, or if designated by a voter with a disability. Any request for a voter must include the voter’s name, address, date of birth, and the voter’s Florida Driver License or Florida ID number or the last four digits of their social security number, whichever may be verified in the supervisor’s records. In addition, the requester must provide their name, address, relationship to the voter, signature (written requests only), and if available the requester’s driver license or identification card number, or the last four digits of the requester’s social security number. Please note that if a ballot is being sent to an address that is not on file with our office, only the voter may make the request and MUST contain the voter’s signature.
A voter can pick up a vote-by-mail ballot at the Indian River County Supervisor of Elections office. Ballot pick-up is available once the initial mailing of vote-by-mail ballots has begun.
Please note: The supervisor may not deliver a vote-by-mail ballot to a voter or a voter's designee during the mandatory early voting period through Election Day unless there is an emergency, to the extent that the voter will be unable to go to a designated early voting site or Election Day polling place.
In order to receive a vote-by-mail ballot during the mandatory early voting period through Election Day, a voter or a voter's designee must complete the affidavit (DS-DE 136) to affirm that they have an emergency keeping them from being able to vote at a designated early voting site or Election Day polling place.
The affidavit can be found on the Florida Divison of Elections website.
If the voter is unable to pick up their ballot, he or she may designate another person to pick up their vote-by-mail ballot after vote-by-mail ballots have been mailed and up to 7 p.m. on Election Day. The designee must provide photo identification along with a written and signed authorization from the voter or provide the following affidavit (DS-DE 37). During the mandatory early voting period through Election Day, the voter must also complete and submit the emergency affidavit (DS-DE 136). The designee may only pick up two (2) mail ballots per election other than his or her own, except for the ballots picked up for members of his or her immediate family.
The affidavits can be found on the Florida Divison of Elections website.
In order to receive a vote-by-mail ballot on Election Day, you must complete the Election Day Affidavit (DS-DE 136) to affirm that you have an emergency keeping you from being able to vote at your assigned polling location.
The affidavit can be found on the Florida Divison of Elections website.
No, ballots are NOT forwardable. Your ballot will be mailed to your residential address unless we have a mailing address, or other authorized address on file. If you have moved or will be away during the elections, you need to contact our office so we can send your mail ballot to the correct address. A ballot returned to our office as undeliverable will cancel an existing request for upcoming elections and you will be required to submit a new request.
Ballots are mailed between 40 and 33 days for all domestic voters with requests already on file. Ballots for UOCAVA (Military/Overseas) voters are sent no later than 45 days before the election by forwarded mail, fax, or email as specified in the voter’s request. Vote-by-mail ballots are sent daily as new requests are received.
The voter must personally vote their own ballot (unless assistance is required due to blindness, disability or inability to read or write). All vote-by-mail ballots contain voting instructions on how to ensure your ballot is counted. Each mail ballot packet will contain: a ballot, secrecy sleeve (instructions), and a pre-addressed voter’s certificate return envelope (must be signed by the voter).
No, it is illegal to sign for someone else, no exceptions. All mail ballots must be signed by the voter, even if it is with their identifying mark.
If you make a mistake on your mail ballot, contact the Elections Office at 772-226-4700 to request a replacement ballot. A voter may receive up to three (3) replacement vote-by-mail ballots, but the first one received back by the Elections Office will be the one that is counted. Once the Elections Office has received your vote-by-mail ballot, no changes can be made.
It is important to keep your signature/identifying mark up to date with the Elections Office. Your signature on file with the Elections Office is used to verify the signature on your vote-by-mail ballot certificate envelope. You can update your signature/identifying mark by completing and submitting a Voter Registration Application to the Elections Office.
Yes. If you returned your vote-by-mail ballot but forgot to sign the envelope, or if the signature has been flagged for review, your ballot may not count unless you complete and return the Vote-By-Mail Cure Affidavit form with a copy of your identification, no later than 5 p.m. two (2) days after the election. Voters who have a signature issue are notified by mail, email, and telephone, based on the information provided to our office by the voter. For more information, visit our Cure A Signature Mismatch / Forgot to Sign Vote-By-Mail Ballot page.
If you are concerned with including this information on the return envelope, you can return your ballot inside a separate mailing envelope. You may also deliver the ballot in person to the Supervisor of Elections Office during regular business hours. Once early voting has begun, you may also deliver your ballot to one of our secure ballot intake stations located at each of our early voting locations during early voting hours.
It is not a requirement to provide your phone number and email address on the return envelope. However, the Indian River County Supervisor of Elections office highly recommends you provide this information in the event there is a signature issue with your mail ballot, such as you forgot to sign your ballot or your signature on the voter’s certificate envelope does not match your signature on file with the Elections Office. If you are concerned about including this information on the return envelope, you can call or email our office directly with this information, or return your ballot inside a separate mailing envelope.
No, just sign and use clear tape to seal the envelope when sending it back.
No, a vote-by-mail ballot is only counted if it is RECEIVED in the Supervisor of Elections Office in the county of residence by 7 p.m. on Election Day.Postmarks do not count.
You can drop off your signed, voted ballot at our office during business hours.You can also bring your voted ballot to any early voting location during early voting hours. Another option is to exchange the voted ballot for an in-person ballot at any early voting location or at your assigned polling location on Election Day.
You can track the status of your vote-by-mail ballot on our official website VoteIndianRiver.gov to see when your ballot was received by our office. If there are any signature issues, you will be alerted and directed to the Vote-By-Mail Ballot Cure Affidavit link. For more information,visit our Cure A Signature Mismatch / Forgot to Sign Vote-By-Mail Ballot page.
No. You may surrender your mail ballot and vote in-person during early voting or on Election Day.
Yes, (with the following restrictions) Any person who distributes, orders, requests, collects, delivers, or otherwise physically possesses more than two vote-by-mail ballots per election in addition to his or her own ballot or a ballot belonging to an immediate family member, commits a misdemeanor of the first degree.
Voted mail ballots will not be accepted at Election Day polling places because vote-by-mail ballots may only be turned in at the Supervisor of Elections Office on Election Day before 7 p.m. A voter may surrender the mail ballot and vote a new ballot in person at their precinct.
Yes. Recording your vote-by-mail is a two-step process. Upon receiving your completed mail ballot envelope, your signature on the outside of the envelope is compared to your signature on your voter record. At that time, your record is marked that you have cast a ballot for the election and the unopened envelope with the ballot inside is stored in a secure vault. During canvassing, the ballots are separated from the mail ballot envelopes and run through our high-speed counters. The only identifying numbers on the ballot are the style of the ballot and your precinct number; your vote is secret and your selections are aggregated with thousands of votes cast in your precinct.
No. Vote-by-mail ballots are the first ballots tabulated. Florida law allows for the canvassing of vote-by-mail ballots to begin immediately upon completion of the logic and accuracy test of the tabulation system. While the ballots are canvassed in the presence of the County Canvassing Board, the results are not released until 7 p.m. on Election Night. The first results posted on our website, VoteIndianRiver.gov, are the tabulated vote-by-mail and early voting results.