Early voting: In Florida, it’s the “in” thing to do. In the first days of the state’s early voting period, record numbers of voters have already taken the opportunity to mark their ballots before Election Day, November 6. They’ve made a good decision, according to the League of Women Voters of Florida.
League President Deirdre Macnab says, “Early voting lets you schedule your trip to the polls when and where it’s most convenient for you. In addition, with the changes in Florida’s voting laws, early voting also lets you confirm your eligibility and correct any problems before Election Day.”
The League urges all voters to study this year’s lengthy ballot before entering the polling booth and has created a handy tool for smartphone users. If you’re caught standing in line at your voting site, or whenever you have a free moment, you can use your phone to review the candidates and issues on your ballot. Visit BeReadyToVote.mobi or VamosAVotar.mobi (en español) to get nonpartisan information about the presidential, congressional and judicial candidates, as well as the state constitutional amendments.
Macnab outlines more advantages of voting early: “Officials at early-voting sites have access to the live, statewide voter registration database and can verify your eligibility to vote on the spot. If there’s a problem, you may be able to resolve it right there, or you’ll have time to deal with it before Election Day. Be sure to have a photo ID with you, and remember, your ID does NOT need to have your current address on it–just your picture.”
She adds, “Voting early also lets you update your address at the polling site, even if you have moved from out of the county. If you wait to vote on Election Day and you have moved from one county to another in Florida, but haven’t changed your registration, you’ll have to vote a provisional ballot rather than a regular ballot.”
Even voters who have already opted for absentee/mail-in ballots can choose to use the early-voting option. Whether you’ve dripped coffee on your absentee ballot, don’t want to pay postage, if you’re worried that it won’t arrive by the 7:00 p.m., November 6, deadline or it won’t be counted, no problem. Just take your absentee ballot with you to your polling place for early voting or on Election Day and trade it for an in-person ballot.
Saturday, November 3, is the last day for early voting. Check out your county’s hours and locations at the League of Women Voters of Florida’s one-stop voter-information websites,
www.BeReadyToVote.org or www.VamosAVotar.org, which also include customized county-by-county sample ballots and the League’s nonpartisan 2012 Election & Voter Guide.
