DA State Teams Florida State Team

FL Voting Information

FLORIDA VOTING & INFORMATION

If your questions aren’t answered below, please email us directly at [email protected].  For information on who to vote for, see our Candidate Guide or our News Page.

 

  1. GENERAL FLORIDA VOTING INFORMATION

  2. NEW ELECTRONIC BALLOT SOURCE FOR 37 COUNTIES

  3. FULL STATE/LOCAL BALLOT OR FEDERAL BALLOT? (Intent to return)
  4. HOW TO VOTE BY FAX USING EMAIL/APP

  5. GENERAL FL DEMOCRATS ABROAD RESOURCES

 

1. GENERAL FLORIDA VOTING INFORMATION

Voting from Abroad as a Florida voter is easy but there are a few steps to the process. 

1. Register or request your overseas ballot at Vote From Abroad.  It's important to use the federal (FPCA) form and not the state form to insure you receive the additional rights afforded to overseas voters, specifically:

  • You can receive your ballot by email or online portal
  • Your ballot will be sent to you earlier than domestic voters -- 45 days before election day.
  • If you don't receive your official ballot, you may submit the federal backup ballot (FWAB)
  • If you return your ballot by mail, it will be counted if postmarked by election day and received within 10 days after election day

2. If you've requested to receive your ballot via email and you have not received it, please check your junk, spam, promotion, and trash folders, as ballot emails are often miscategorized.  You can also try searching all your emails for "official ballot" or just "ballot".  If you still can't find it and it's less than 45 days before election day, contact your county election office

3. Print and vote your ballot.  It's best if 8-1/2 x 11 or A4 paper is used, especially if returning your ballot by fax, but any size is acceptable as long as your votes are readable.

4. Complete, SIGN, AND DATE your Voter Oath.  The signature section is at the bottom and is easy to miss.  Lack of a signature and/or date is a major cause for rejecting ballots.

5.  We recommend returning your ballot by fax (it's easy, even without a fax machine), as it is generally fast and reliable.  The following instructions are for fax return; mail return is discussed below

  • There are a number of free and low-cost online upload/email to fax services.  We've prepared a guide to these at Fax Back Your Florida Ballot
  • You must use the fax number for your county's elections office (or give this number to the third-party service, if using one).  It will be in the instructions you receive with your ballot
  • There is a notice in the instructions that, "If you fax your voted ballot, you will be voluntarily waiving your right to a secret ballot".  This only means that an employee of the election office will need to transcribe your ballot onto a standard ballot form.  The transcription may be observed by an official of each major political party, in order to verify that the transcription is performed accurately.  How you voted will not be disclosed to the general public.
  • Faxed ballots must be received by 7pm on Election Day.
  • Please return your ballot early to avoid possible busy signals on the fax line

    Here's what the assembled pages look like:

6. If you choose to return your ballot by mail or courier (FedEx or DHL, for example):

  • Place your voted ballot alone in an envelope.  The instructions that came with your ballot may refer to a provided envelope, but this does not apply to email-delivered ballots.  Any envelope will do.  Mark the envelope, "SECRECY ENVELOPE".
  • Place the sealed Secrecy Envelope with your ballot and your signed and dated Voter Oath in the envelope for mailing.  It is permitted to send several ballots in the same envelope / package, but if this is the case, each voter's Secrecy Envelope and Voter Oath should be placed in a separate envelope, and then those envelopes can be placed in the mailing package.
  • Address the envelope/package per the instructions that came with your ballot.  Note that if multiple ballots are being returned together, they must all be for the same county election office.  Ballots for another office will NOT be forwarded
  • You may request shipment tracking if you wish, but do NOT require a delivery signature.  Most election offices refuse to sign for packages, and your ballot will not be delivered or counted

    Here's what the assembled package should look like (click to enlarge):

7. Track your ballot.  Regardless of how your return your ballot, it's important to track your ballot on your county election office's website.  You'll find a list in the County Democratic Voter Resources Spreadsheet

8. Monitor your email for notices from your county election office.  If there is any problem with your ballot, they will try to contact you.  If you see that your ballot has been received on the county tracking site, but it does not show as counted after two business days, please contact your election office and ask if there is a problem

9. If for any reason you do not receive your official ballot, or your ballot does not show as received and counted on the county tracking site after a reasonable time, you should submit a federal backup ballot, or FWAB.  The FWAB can be submitted at any time, and if you later receive your official ballot, you should submit it as well.  Submitting an official ballot and a FWAB is NOT considered "double-voting".  More information on the FWAB and how to use it is available at Vote From Abroad

If you have any problems or questions about registering to vote, requesting your ballot, voting, or using the FWAB, please email

[email protected]

 

If you would like individualized help with any voting related question or issue, please visit Democrats Abroad's Live Voter Help Sessions.  Schedule information is available at:  Live Voter Support

 

2. NEW ELECTRONIC BALLOT SOURCE FOR 37 COUNTIES:

Some people are receiving their ballots via email from “EnhancedBallot.com.” More than half of Florida counties (37) are using a service called Enhanced Ballot from a group called Enhanced Voting. According to the company, “through Enhanced Ballot, a voter with disabilities can mark and print their electronic ballot, with or without assistive technology, before returning it in person or by mail per Florida election law. Military and overseas voters may additionally return their ballots to their county election office via fax.”

If your county uses this system, you will receive an email with a link instead of receiving your ballot directly.  We are aware that some counties provide a personal identification number (PIN) in the email that must be entered when accessing the site.

 

3. FULL STATE/LOCAL BALLOT OR FEDERAL BALLOT? (Intent to return)

You need to request your ballot every election year, which you can do at Vote From Abroad. In Florida, each county election office determines which ballot you receive depending on how you answer the question about whether you plan to return to Florida, and possibly whether or not you can show that you reside or own property in the county.

If you select "I intend to return": You are generally eligible to vote in federal, state and local elections.  You don't have to have a set date of return and it doesn't have to be within a set time frame.

If you select “My return is uncertain”, you may or may not be eligible to vote in state and local elections, but you can still vote for US President, US Senator, and US Representative.

NOTE: Many counties in our 2022 survey have reported that they WOULD send a full ballot to "return uncertain" voters. Unfortunately, two of the biggest -- Miami/Dade & Palm Beach -- said they would only send a federal ballot.  We have reports that in 2024, Palm Beach County is sending a full ballot to all voters.  Please let us know if your county only provided a federal ballot.

MIAMI/DADE NOTE: The Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections limits who can get a full ballot for "overseas residents who are not registered Miami-Dade voters."  It goes on to say if you or a family member has a home in Miami-Dade county and your FPCA/ballot request application is received no later than 29 days prior to the election, you will "...become an actual Miami-Dade County voter."  However, "If your last address was in Miami-Dade County and you do not currently have a home in Miami-Dade County, you are eligible to receive an Overseas Citizen's Ballot for Federal Elections..."  Source:  Miami-Dade County/Elections/Vote by Mail/Overseas and Military Voters. 

Florida doesn't have an income tax, so there's no tax downside to choosing "I intend to return."

 

4. HOW TO VOTE BY FAX USING EMAIL/APP

Ballots in Florida can be returned via postal mail or FAX. We recommend FAX. You do NOT need a fax machine! You can use a free online version.

NOTE: FVAP.gov (DoD) fax service doesn’t confirm receipt and does not guarantee that they will send your ballot, especially close to the election. There may be more reliable options.

DA fax info link: FL Voters - FAX back your Ballot!

Free online services members have used and liked: https://www.fax.plus/ and https://www.hellofax.com/  (there are many others)

 

5. GENERAL DEMOCRATS ABROAD RESOURCES