Elections

Vote-by-mail (absentee) ballots available for Aug. 23 Primary Election

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Supervisor of Elections Turner provides details about returning those ballots

This is a section of the Sarasota County Supervisor of Elections website with links to information about voting by mail. Image courtesy Sarasota County Supervisor of Elections Ron Turner

Vote-by-mail (absentee) ballots are available for the Aug. 23 Primary Election, Sarasota County Supervisor of Elections Ron Turner has announced.

Voters may request their ballots online at SarasotaVotes.gov/VotebyMail or by calling 941-861-8618, a news release notes. The deadline to request that a vote-by-mail ballot be mailed to a voter is 5 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 13, the release adds. “Under Florida law, all registered voters are eligible to vote by mail,” the release points out.

Voted ballots may be returned by mail or in person, the release explains, but they must be received in the elections office by 7 p.m. Election Night to be counted. “The cost to return a ballot by mail is one Forever stamp or $.60 postage,” the release adds with emphasis.

Further, Turner noted in the release that voted ballots may be dropped off in person at secure ballot intake stations, which are located inside the elections offices in Sarasota, Venice and North Port, as follows:

  • Now through Friday, Aug. 12, weekdays (Monday through Friday), 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
  • Saturday, Aug. 13, through Monday, Aug. 22, daily (including weekends), 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
  • Tuesday, Aug. 23 (Election Day), 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The Sarasota County elections offices are located at the following addresses:

  • The Terrace Building, which stands at 2001 Adams Lane in downtown Sarasota.
  • R.L. Anderson Admin Building, which stands at 4000 S. Tamiami Trail in Venice; Room 114.
  • Biscayne Plaza, which stands at 13640 Tamiami Trail in North Port.

Additionally, ballots may be dropped off during early voting (Aug. 13 -21, including weekends, 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.) in a ballot intake station located inside the following early voting sites:

  • The Terrace Building, which stands at 2001 Adams Lane in downtown Sarasota.
  • R.L. Anderson Admin Building, which stands at 4000 S. Tamiami Trail in Venice; Room 114.
  • Biscayne Plaza, which stands at 13640 Tamiami Trail in North Port.
  • Betty J. Johnson North Sarasota Public Library, located at 2801 Newtown Blvd. in Sarasota.
  • Fruitville Public Library, located at 100 Apex Road in Sarasota.
  • The Devyn Event Center, located at 7113 S. Tamiami Trail in Sarasota.

Turner urges voters to follow the instructions included with vote-by-mail ballots to ensure their ballots are counted, the release also points out. Each voter should complete and sign the Voter’s Certificate on the ballot, the release says.