How to check if your mail-in ballot was received and counted in Florida

You’ve decided to vote-by-mail this year because of COVID-19 and have already requested your ballot.

But then you wonder: “Will my ballot arrive in time to be counted?”

Many Florida voters are expected to vote by mail in the upcoming presidential election, and like in other states, there are concerns about the U.S. Postal Service’s ability to deliver the ballots on time.

General Counsel of the U.S. Postal Service Thomas Marshall shared similar concerns in a July 29 letter to Florida Secretary of State Laurel M. Lee, who oversees Florida’s elections.

He said Florida ballots mailed in toward the end of October or later might “not be returned in time to be counted,” for the Nov. 3 presidential election, the Miami Herald has reported.

The Postal Service sent similar letters to election officials across the country, reminding them that voters shouldn’t procrastinate with mail-in balloting, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Can USPS handle the influx of expected mail-in ballots?

On Aug. 21, USPS wrote on Twitter that “If all Americans vote by mail this year— 330 million ballots over the course of the election would be only 75% of what we deliver in one single day.”

A few days later, it tweeted: “If you plan to vote by mail, plan ahead.” That’s always good advice when voting by mail, especially now that there are reports of a slowdown in USPS mail delivery.

In Florida, you need to request your mail-in ballot by 5 p.m. Oct. 24 if you want to vote in the Nov. 3 general election, and you should mail it back as soon as you finish filling it out. The Postal Service recommends that all mail-in ballots in Florida be sent back no later than Tuesday, Oct. 27, a week before Election Day.

Florida law allows voters to request a ballot up to 10 days before Election Day and requires mail-in ballots to be received by the elections department no later than 7 p.m. on Election Day for them to be counted. Overseas ballots have a 10-day extension.

Depending on the county, voters who don’t want to risk standing in line at the polls during the pandemic but also don’t want to mail the ballot may be able to drop off their mail-in ballots at drop-off locations, return the ballot in person to their county’s supervisor of elections office or have a designee turn it in for them.

The good news is that if you do decide to cast your ballot by mail, it’s fairly easy to check if it was received and counted.

How to check if your vote-by-mail ballot was received, counted in Florida?

▪ If you live in Miami-Dade County, visit the Election Department’s website at www.iamelectionready.org and use the online voter information tool. To find it, scroll down and click the “Vote By Mail” tab. Then click “Track Your Ballot Status.” If you are using a desktop, laptop or tablet, this should be on the right side of the webpage under “Online Options.”

Smartphone users, you’ll likely have to scroll down until you find the “Track Your Ballot Status” section near the bottom of the webpage.

Once you’re on the Voter Information page, just type in your first and last name and your date of birth. You’ll then be able to check if the elections department has received your vote-by-mail ballot, if it was counted yet and if there were any problems. You’ll also be able to request a vote-by-mail ballot if you haven’t done so already, see what date your ballot was mailed to you and check upcoming election deadlines.

This tool also lets you check voting eligibility, update your address and party affiliation and see your sample ballot once it becomes available. You can also see the list of early voting sites and the address of your Election Day precinct.

▪ Broward County voters can check the status of their vote-by-mail ballot, see their sample ballot, update their voter information and check their Election Day precinct information at www.browardsoe.org. Click the “Check Your Voter Status/Update” tab on the top of the page and type in your first and last name and your date of birth to get access.

▪ If you live in Monroe County, visit www.keys-elections.org and click the “My Vote By Mail Status” tab on the right side of the page if you are using a desktop, laptop or tablet to check the status of your vote-by-mail ballot, update voter information, see your sample ballot and check your Election Day precinct. Smartphone users, click the “What is my Ballot Status?” tab.

▪ Another way to check your vote-by-mail status, regardless of where you live in Florida, is by visiting the Florida Division of Elections website at https://dos.myflorida.com/elections/ and clicking “Voter Information Lookup” under the “For Voters” tab near the top of the page.

Miami Herald staff writers David Smiley and Devoun Cetoute contributed to this report.