Vote-by-mail and sample ballots
Pasco County Supervisor of Elections Brian Corley has announced that he sent out 116,500 ballots on Sept. 29 to voters who requested vote-by-mail ballots for the Nov. 8 General Election, according to a news release.
Corley’s office also announced that ballots were sent on Sept. 23 to uniformed and overseas citizens.
Votes cast by mail must be returned to the elections’ office by 7 p.m. Election Day, Nov. 8.
Corley asks voters to allow sufficient time for first-class delivery by the U.S. Postal Service, or to hand-deliver ballots to any of the three Pasco County Supervisor of Elections’ Offices.
Voted mail ballots also are accepted at early voting sites, however voted mail ballots may not be turned in at the polls on Election Day.
Early voting sites and office locations are available online at PascoVotes.gov.
For eligible voters who did not previously request a ballot, they are still available by calling the elections’ office, by submitting the request in writing, or by using the online request form on PascoVotes.gov.
Requests must include the voter’s Florida Driver License number, Florida ID Card number, or the last four digits of voter’s SSN, date of birth, and Pasco County residence address. Written requests also must include the voter’s signature.
Vote-by-mail ballots cannot be forwarded but can be mailed to a temporary mailing address if outside of Pasco County. Voters are encouraged to confirm their mailing address when ordering a vote-by-mail ballot. The deadline to request a ballot to be mailed is 5 p.m. on Oct. 29.
Written or telephonic requests for vote-by-mail ballots must come from the voter, an immediate family member, or legal guardian on behalf of a voter.
Voters were able to pick up ballots for themselves at any of the three elections’ offices beginning, Sept. 26, but not for someone else until Oct. 30, which is nine days before the election.
Those picking up ballots on behalf of someone will need a written request from the voter, designating them as the person authorized to carry out the ballot.
The designee will be asked to provide a photo ID and to complete an affidavit before the ballot will be released to them.
Corley also has announced that sample ballots for the Nov. 8 General Election are now available online at PascoVotes.gov, and will be mailed to Pasco County voters on Oct. 10.
He encourages voters to look over their sample ballot and familiarize themselves with the candidates and issues before going to the polls.
To expedite the voting process, voters also are encouraged to bring their completed sample ballots with voting early or on Election Day.
An Accessible Sample Ballot is available on PascoVotes.gov. It is a web-based, interactive sample ballot for all voters. It is audio-enabled, multilingual, and fully accessible for voters with disabilities and compatible with all major screen readers, tactile switches, closed captioning, and sip and puff systems. It allows voters to view and mark an accessible sample ballot and print a reference sheet with their selections.
The direct link to sample ballots is PascoVotes.gov/Elections/Sample-Ballots.
The Precinct Finder option is available to voters who are unsure of their precinct number, at PascoVotes.gov/Precincts/Precinct-Finder.
Sample ballots are mailed to the address of record on the voter registration file. If your voter registration is not up to date with a current address, you can update it at any time online at RegisterToVoteFlorida.gov/home, or by calling 800-851-8754.
Republican Club meeting
The Wesley Chapel Republican Club will meet on Oct. 13 at 6:30 p.m., at Myrtle Lake Baptist Church, 2017 Riegler Road, in Land O’ Lakes. The guest speaker will be U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds.
After the guest speaker, there will be a showing of the film “2000 Mules.”
All are welcome. Admission is free, and there will be coffee and dessert.
Public forum meet-and-greet
A candidate meet-and-greet cosponsored by the Pasco Unit of the League of Women Voters of Hillsborough County and the Pasco NAACP is scheduled for Oct. 8 from noon to 2 p.m., in Rooms 3 and 4, of the Land O’ Lakes Recreation Complex, 3032 Collier Parkway in Land O’ Lakes.
This is a public forum.
Each candidate will have 5 minutes to speak. When speeches by the candidates are completed, voters may visit the tables set up for each candidate to ask questions, pick up brochures and so on.
All candidates representing some or all of Pasco County on the Nov. 8 ballot have been invited to participate. This includes candidates for Pasco School Board, District 1; Pasco County School Board, District 4; 6th Judicial Circuit State Attorney; Florida State Legislature; Florida State Cabinet (CFO, Agriculture Commissioner and Attorney General); and, U.S. House Districts 12 and 15.
