Elections supervisor urges voters to return vote-by-mail (absentee) ballots promptly

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Ballots may be returned by mail or dropped off at designated secure ballot intake stations 

Sarasota County Supervisor of Elections Ron Turner is reminding voters who choose to vote by mail (absentee) in the Aug. 23 Primary Election to vote and return their ballots early, so the ballots will be received in the elections office in time to be counted.

“Voted ballots may be returned by mail or in person but must be received in the elections office by 7 p.m. election night to be counted,” Turner pointed out in a news release. “The cost to return a ballot by mail is one Forever stamp or $.60 postage,” he added, with emphasis in the release.

Voted ballots may be dropped off in person at secure ballot intake stations, which are located inside all three elections offices — in Sarasota, Venice and North Port — as follows:

  • Weekdays through Friday, Aug. 12, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
  • Saturday, Aug. 13, to 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 Terrace Building, standing at 2001 Adams Lane in downtown Sarasota; Room 114 of the R.L. Anderson Administration Center, located at 4000 Tamiami Trail S. in Venice; and Biscayne Plaza, which is located at 13640 Tamiami Trail in North Port

In addition, ballots may be returned during early voting (Aug. 13-21, including weekends, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.) to ballot intake stations located inside the following early voting sites:

  • Betty J. Johnson North Sarasota Library, located at 2801 Newtown Blvd. in Sarasota.
  • Fruitville Public Library, located at 100 Apex Road in Sarasota.
  • The Devyn, located at 7113 S. Tamiami Trail in Sarasota.

Any voter may request a vote-by-mail ballot online at SarasotaVotes.gov/VotebyMail or by calling 941-861-8618, the release points out. The deadline to request that a vote-by-mail ballot be mailed to a voter is 5 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 13.

For more information, contact the elections office at 941-861-8619 or visit SarasotaVotes.gov.