Requests for mail-in-ballots increase 60% in Seminole County from previous primary

Orlando, Fla. — Seminole County Elections Supervisor Chris Anderson calls this year’s influx of mail-in-ballot requests a “huge increase.”

As of the Aug. 8 deadline, 99,313 registered Seminole County voters requested to vote by mail in this year’s primary election.

“That’s very high,” Anderson tells WDBO. “And to give you perspective on the number, in August 2016, we had about 62,000 total mailed out.”

It’s an increase of about 62%, or a difference of 37,899 ballots.

Interest in mail-in voting has surged during this year’s primaries as the nation struggles with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Seminole County was the first in the state to send mail ballot request forms to registered voters. As of Monday, Anderson says 25,647 mail-in-ballots have been returned.

Mail-in-ballots can be dropped off at any of the county’s seven early voting sites or can be exchanged for a traditional ballot at your polling precinct on Election Day.

Anderson says about 1,300 ballots were returned at early voting sites on Saturday.

“Most folks on that day dropped off their mail ballot versus the voters that voted in-person.”

While it’s too late to request a ballot through the mail, registered voters can visit the Seminole County Elections Office in Sanford to receive a mail-in-ballot over the counter.

The ballot must be in the hands of your county’s election office by 7 p.m. Aug. 18. Early voting runs from Aug. 8 to Aug. 15.

Cox Media Group