Supervisor of Elections Turner also reminds citizens that their signatures on vote-by-mail ballots must match their signatures on file with his office
On July 8, Sarasota County Supervisor of Elections Ron Turner began mailing vote-by-mail (absentee) ballots for the Aug. 23 Primary Election to military and overseas voters, his staff announced.
More than 1,900 ballots would be mailed to active-duty military personnel and their spouses and dependents who are absent from Sarasota County, and to registered Sarasota County voters living overseas, Turner said in a news release. “The mailing is required by the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA), which ensures all eligible citizens can register to vote and vote by mail (absentee),” the release adds. “Following this initial mailing, ballots will be processed and mailed to UOCAVA voters as requests are received,” the release points out.
In the release, Turner noted that an additional 114,865 vote-by-mail ballots were scheduled to be mailed to domestic voters beginning July 14.
“Whether you are an overseas or domestic voter, your voted ballot must reach the elections office no later than 7 p.m. on election night to be counted,” Turner said in the release. The Voter’s Certificate on the return vote-by-mail envelope must be signed by the voter, and the voter’s signature should match the signature on record in the elections office, Turner also pointed out.
“The signature on file at the time the voted ballot is received by the supervisor of elections will be used to verify the signature on the Voter’s Certificate,” the release explains.
Voters who need to update their signatures for the upcoming election may do so by completing a Florida Voter Registration Application and mailing it or delivering it in person to any one of the three elections offices in the county — in Sarasota, Venice or North Port, the release adds.
Voters may contact the elections office at 941-861-8618 or visit SarasotaVotes.gov for more information.