Mail-In Ballot Request Deadline Approaches

CRAWFORD. THANK YOU FOR JOINING US. THE FIRST BALLOTS CAST IN THE MIDTERM GENERAL ELECTION. OUR ALREADY TRICKLING IN TO THE LEE COUNTY ELECTIONS OFFICE IN FORT MYERS, THE SUPERVISOR OF ELECTIONS, JENNA PERSONS-MULICKA SAYS HER OFFICE HAS JUST RECEIVED DOZENS OF VOTE BY MAIL BALLOTS FROM MILITARY AND OVERSEAS VOTERS REGISTERED IN LEE COUNTY PERSONS-MULICKA SAYS ALMOST 1000 BALLOTS WERE SENT OVERSEAS AND MORE THAN 120,000 WILL BE MAILED STATESIDE NEXT WEEK. THAT MEANS IF YOU REQUESTED ONE, YOURS SHOULD ARRIVE BY THE END OF NEXT WEEK. NOW THEY ARE JUST SOME OF THE MILLIONS OF VOTE BY MAIL BALLOTS EXPECTED TO BE SENT OUT TO FLORIDIANS IN ALL. 67 COUNTIES BY OCTOBER. 1ST. >> JOINING ME NOW IN THE WGCU STUDIO IS LEE COUNTY SUPERVISOR OF ELECTIONS. >> THIS JENNA PERSONS-MULICKA, THANK YOU FOR JOINING US IN STUDIO. THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME. WE ARE UNDER 6 WEEKS AWAY FROM THE ELECTIONS IN THIS IS A VERY BUSY TIME FOR YOUR OFFICE. WHAT ARE SOME OF THE MOST IMPORTANT DEADLINES THAT VOTERS NEED TO BE AWARE OF OVER THE NEXT FEW WEEKS? >> WELL, THE MOST IMPORTANT DATE IS NOVEMBER 3RD, THAT IS THE GENERAL ELECTION DAY. AND IF YOU HAVEN'T REGISTERED TO VOTE YET, YOU STILL HAVE TIME. THE DEADLINE TO REGISTER TO VOTE IS OCTOBER. BETH, IF YOU WANT TO VOTE BY MAIL, WHICH IS A PERTH FOR GOOD WAY TO VOTE FOR FOLKS IN LEE COUNTY AND YOU HAVEN'T SIGNED UP FOR A VOTE BY MAIL BALLOT. YOU STILL HAVE TIME TO DO SO. THE DEADLINE IS 05:00PM ON OCTOBER 22ND. YOU CAN GO ONLINE TO OUR WEB SITE. VOTER GIVE OUR OFFICE THE CALL AND WE'LL GET YOU SET UP IF YOU RECEIVED A VOTE BY MAIL BALLOT IN THE PRIMARY, YOU ALREADY SIGNED UP TO GET ONE FOR THAT GENERAL ELECTION. BUT IF YOU DIDN'T, IT AND YOU WANT ONE, MAKE SURE YOU CONTACT OUR OFFICE. >> NOW I UNDERSTAND THAT YOUR OFFICE IS GETTING READY TO DO THEIR BIG DROP OF VOTE BY MAIL BALLOTS. TELL ME ABOUT THAT PROCESS. AND WHEN THEY'RE GOING OUT. >> LAST WEEK ON SEPTEMBER 18TH, WE SENT THE VOTE BY MAIL BALLOT TO OUR VOTERS WHO ARE OVERSEAS OR IN THE MILITARY. THERE ARE AROUND 900 OF THOSE BALLOTS THAT ALREADY WENT OUT. BUT FOR DOMESTIC VOTERS, VOTER STATESIDE, WE ARE SENDING THE FIRST BIG DROP OUT ON SEPTEMBER. 29TH. SO IF YOU SIGNED UP FOR A VOTE BY MAIL WATCH YOUR MAILBOX BEGINNING OCTOBER FIRST BECAUSE IT SHOULD BE ARRIVING SHORTLY. >> AND HOW MANY HAVE YOU COUNTED SO FAR? THEY'RE GOING TO BE GOING OUT. >> IN THAT FIRST DOMESTIC DROP, THE WE'RE ESTIMATING MORE THAN 120,000 VOTE BY MAIL BALLOTS THAT WILL BE SENT OUT. >> NOW YOU MENTIONED YOU'RE TRYING TO GET MORE PEOPLE TO REGISTER TO RECEIVE THE VOTE BY MAIL BALLOTS. WHY IS THAT? >> WE'D LOVE TO GET UP TO AROUND 150,000 VOTE BY MAIL REQUESTERS. THAT WOULD BE CONSISTENT WITH PRIOR YEARS AND OUR GOAL IS TO MAKE VOTING EASY AND ACCESSIBLE FOR EVERYONE. WE DON'T WANT YOU TO WAIT IN A LONG LINE ON ELECTION DAY. SO WE WANT TO MAKE SURE YOU KNOW YOUR OPTION TO HAVE THE CONVENIENCE OF VOTING BY-MAIL YOUR HOME AND WE PAY FOR THE POSTAGE TO COME BACK TO US. SO IT'S A VERY CONVENIENT WAY OF VOTING. YOU ALSO CAN VOTE EARLY IN LEE COUNTY AND WE'LL HAVE EARLY VOTING FROM OCTOBER 19 THROUGH OCTOBER 31ST. THAT'S ANOTHER CONVENIENT WAY TO VOTE, ESPECIALLY IF YOU WANT TO VOTE IN PERSON. I PERSONALLY I GO AND VOTE EARLY. I LIKE VOTING IN PERSON. BUT I LIKE TAKING OF ADVANTAGE OF THAT FLEXIBLE IN-PERSON VOTING OPPORTUNITY. YOU CAN CHECK WAIT TIMES ON OUR WEBSITE. WE VOTE AT ANY OF THE 12 EARLY VOTING LOCATIONS AND YOU CAN VOTE IN ANY OF THEM AND THEY'LL BE OPEN ON OCTOBER 19, THROUGH OCTOBER 31ST FROM 10:00AM TO 06:00PM. >> I THOUGHT IT WAS SO INTERESTING WHEN I HEARD THAT SOME OF THESE VOTE BY MAIL BALLOTS HAVE BEEN SENT AROUND THE WORLD TO SOME REALLY INTERESTING PLACES. >> YES, WE HAD LEE COUNTY VOTERS RESIDING IN JAPAN, CANADA, SWEDEN, COSTA RICA ALL OVER THE WORLD AND WE'RE EXCITED THAT THEY'RE STILL EXERCISING THEIR RIGHT TO VOTE. >> AND THEN HOW DO YOU MAKE SURE THAT THE ONE OF THE PROTOCOLS THAT ARE IN PLACE TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT BALLOT IT'S GETTING MAILED. IT ARRIVES IN KENYA. I KNOW YOU SAID YOU HAD SOMEONE IN AFRICA, YOU KNOW, HOW DOES THAT PROCESS WORK TO TRACK IT TO MAKE SURE IT'S SECURE AND SAFE? >> ANY VOTER WHO CHOOSES TO VOTE BY MAIL CAN GO ON OUR WEB SITE, VOTE AND YOU CAN TRACK THE STATUS OF YOUR OWN INDIVIDUAL BALLOT. YOU CAN ALSO DECIDE, KNOW, PULL UP YOUR SAMPLE BALLOT RIGHT NOW ON OUR WEBSITE AND START STUDYING THE DIFFERENT RACES AND BALLOT MEASURES THAT ARE ON YOUR BALLOT. BUT YOU CAN TRACK THE STATUS OF YOUR VOTE BY MAIL BALLOT ILL SHOW WHEN IT WAS MAILED ILL SHOW WHEN IT ARRIVED WHEN IT COMES BACK TO US AND WHEN IT'S COUNTED. >> AND WHAT IS THE DEADLINE FOR THE VOTE BY MAIL BALLOTS TO BE RETURNED IN ORDER TO TO COUNT? >> FOR STATESIDE VOTERS, BALLOTS HAVE TO BE BACK IN OUR OFFICE BY 07:00PM ON ELECTION DAY, NOVEMBER. 3RD. >> AND YOU ALSO MENTIONED THAT SOME VOTERS MAY HAVE REQUESTED A BALLOT FOR THE PRIMARY, BUT THEY MIGHT NEED TO REQUEST AGAIN FOR THE GENERAL ELECTION. >> IF VOTERS REQUESTED A BALLOT FOR ALL ELECTIONS IN THIS CYCLE AND YOU RECEIVED ONE IN THE PRIMARY, YOU WILL RECEIVE ONE IN THE GENERAL ELECTION. IF YOU ONLY REQUESTED A BALLOT FOR SPECIFIC ELECTION, YOU'LL NEED TO REQUEST ANOTHER ONE. BUT YOU CAN CHECK YOUR STATUS. GO ON OUR WEB SITE. LEAD UP, THOUGH, AND YOU CAN YOU CAN SEE WHETHER YOU'RE SIGNED UP FOR A VOTE BY MAIL BALLOT AND WHEN IT WILL BE COMING TO YOU. AND FINALLY, I KNOW YOU'RE A TEAM IS GOING OUT IN THE COMMUNITY TO MAKE SURE THAT SENIORS AND >> VULNERABLE POPULATIONS, INCLUDING THIS IS THE DISABLED. >> HAVE THE ABILITY TO VOTE BY MAIL AND REGISTER. >> TOUCH ON THOSE EFFORTS. >> WE DO WANT TO MAKE VOTING ACCESSIBLE TO EVERYONE, INCLUDING OUR SENIOR VOTERS. >> I TEAM HAS BEEN GOING AROUND. THEY THEY WENT WENT AROUND BEFORE THE PRIMARY. NOW THEY'RE GOING AROUND BEFORE THE GENERAL TO MULTIPLE ASSISTED LIVING AND INDEPENDENT LIVING SENIOR LIVING COMMUNITIES. WE WILL HIT AROUND 50 OF OUR SENIOR LIVING COMMUNITIES BEFORE THE GENERAL ELECTION TO MAKE SURE FOLKS ARE NOT ONLY REGISTERED BUT THAT IF THEY WANT TO VOTE BY MAIL BALLOT SAFE, THEY SIGNED UP FOR ONE AND WE CAN PROVIDE ANY INFORMATION THEY NEED TO GET ELECTION READY. >> ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US IN STUDIO. JENNA PERSONS-MULICKA. OUR SUPERVISOR OF ELECTIONS IN LEE COUNTY. THANK YOU.