Lee Elections Office begins sending mail ballots
Vote-by-mail ballots for the Nov. 3 General Election will start to hit Southwest Florida mailboxes this week.
The Lee County Elections Office is gearing up to mail out the initial batch of domestic vote-by-mail ballots on Sept. 29. Military and overseas vote-by-mail ballots went out on Sept. 18.
“We’re also ensuring our poll workers are thoroughly trained for the upcoming election; the first training class begins (Thursday),” said Lee County Supervisor of Elections Jenna Persons-Mulicka. “Our team is also gearing up for the public Logic and Accuracy Testing of the voting machines, scheduled for Oct. 9.”
As for the Primary, Persons-Mulicka called it “successful.”
“Many of our voters reached out to let us know that they had a great voting experience,” she said. “We are not looking at making any major changes to the process. Voters will experience the same for the General as well.”
For those looking to secure a vote-by-mail ballot, the deadline to make a request for the General Election is 5 p.m. on Oct. 22. The deadline to register to vote for the General Election is Oct. 5.
When it comes to the number of voters that cast their ballot via mail, Persons-Mulicka said Lee County has seen a slight decline in voting by mail over the last few election cycles; however, it remains a popular method of voting for the majority of voters.
As for the security of vote-by-mail ballots, Persons-Mulicka said, “Voters can be confident that their votes are secure and will be counted accurately. Every returned ballot undergoes signature verification before it can be counted. Our office also maintains a record of every vote-by-mail ballot requested, mailed, received, and tabulated, and voters can track their ballot status on our website.”
Persons-Mulicka said voting by mail is one of the three voting methods available to voters in Florida.
“It is essential to our election process and a convenient way for many of our voters to cast their ballots, including, but not limited to, voters with disabilities, as well as our military and overseas voters,” she said.
The Early Voting period for the General Election runs from Oct. 19 through Oct. 31, 10 a.m. through 6 p.m. daily.
Race information for the General Election includes:
Captiva Erosion Prevention District
• Margarethe Thye-Milville and John Raburn Dupre
Lee County Supervisor of Elections
• Incumbent Jenna Persons-Mulicka (R) and Chris Vignieri (D)
United States Senator
• Ashley Moody (R); Angie Nixon (D); Neil J. Gillespie (NPA)
District 19 Representative in Congress
• Jim Schwartzel (R) and Victor Arias (D)
Governor
• Byron Donalds (R); David Jolly (D); Scott Eckhard Jewett (LPF); Charles Burkett (NPA); Frank J. Russo (NPA); Moliere “Moe” Dimanche (NPA); Dean Ocean Abrams (NPA); Jeffrey Peter “Dr. Jeff” Datto (NPA)
Commissioner of Agriculture
• Wilton Simpson (R) and Joey Mendoza Atkins (D)
Attorney General
• Incumbent James Uthmeier (R) and Jose Javier Rodriguez (D)
Chief Financial Officer
• Incumbent Blaise Ingoglia (R) and Annette Taddeo (D)
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