Vote-by-mail ballots for March 8 referendums in the mail to domestic voters

Deadline for requesting vote-by-mail ballots is Feb. 26

Image from the homepage of the Sarasota County Supervisor of Elections Office

On Jan. 27, Sarasota County Supervisor of Elections Ron Turner and his staff began mailing vote-by-mail (absentee) ballots to domestic voters for the countywide March 8 School District Referendum and Sarasota County Single-Member Districts Charter Referendum, Turner has announced.

“All registered Sarasota County voters are eligible to vote on these referendums,” a news release points out.

Turner said that more than 115,000 ballots would be put in the mail on Jan. 27, headed to every registered Sarasota County voters who has a vote-by-mail request on file with the elections office. He also noted that voters have until 5 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 26, to request that a ballot be mailed to them for the coming election, the release adds.

A voter may request a vote-by-mail ballot in one of the following ways, the release notes:

  • Online atSarasotaVotes.gov/VotebyMail.
  • In person at any of three elections offices — in Sarasota, North Port or Venice.
  • By phone — 941-861-8618.

“Voted ballots may be returned by mail or in person to the supervisor of elections but must be received in the elections office no later than 7 p.m. on election night to be counted,” Turner said in the release. “Voters who cast their ballots by mail must sign the certificate on the ballot return envelope and their signature should match the signature on file in the statewide voter registration database,” he added in the release.

A voter may update his or her signature at any time by submitting a Florida Voter Registration Application to the elections office, the release points out. However, a signature update for use in verifying a vote-by-mail ballot for a particular election must be received in the elections office before the voter’s ballot is received, the release explains.

“The ballot will contain only two referendums (no candidate races),” Turner said in the release. “I strongly encourage all voters, whether voting by mail or in person, to take the time to familiarize themselves with the referendum language. Voters can review and print a sample ballot at SarasotaVotes.gov.”

This is a sample of the March 8 ballot. Image courtesy Supervisor of elections Ron Turner