Absentee Voting

What is Absentee Voting?

Florida law allows all qualified voters to request an absentee ballot from the Supervisor of Elections. A member of the voter’s immediate family or legal guardian may also request an absentee ballot for a voter, if directly instructed to do so by the voter. The request can cover all elections through the next two regularly scheduled general elections. A request for an absentee ballot to be mailed must be received by the Supervisor of Elections no later than 5 p.m. on the 6th day before an election. Contact your Supervisor of Elections to request an absentee ballot.

How to Request an Absentee BallotBack

You may request an absentee ballot from your Supervisor of Elections in one of the following ways:

  • in person;
  • by telephone;
  • by mail;
  • many Supervisors of Elections offer an online request form. Check your Supervisor of Elections’ website to see if this service is offered in your county.

When you request an absentee ballot, you must give the Supervisor of Elections the following information:

  • your name;
  • your address;
  • your date of birth; and
  • your signature (if the request is written).

A member of your immediate family or legal guardian may request an absentee ballot for you, if directly instructed to do so. They must provide:

  • the name of the voter for whom the ballot is being requested;
  • the voter’s address;
  • the voter’s date of birth;
  • the requestor’s name;
  • the requestor’s address;
  • the requestor’s driver’s license number (if available);
  • the requestor’s relationship to the voter; and
  • the requestor’s signature (if the request is written).

If you request that your absentee ballot be mailed to you, the request must be received by the Supervisor of Elections no later than 5 p.m. on the 6th day before the election.

A designee may pick up an absentee ballot for you on election day or up to 5 days before an election. A designee may only pick up 2 absentee ballots per election (other than his or her own ballot and ballots for members of his or her immediate family). Designees must provide the following information to the Supervisor of Elections:

  • a written authorization from the voter;
  • a picture identification; and
  • a signed affidavit.

How to Vote an Absentee BallotBack

After you mark your ballot, it must be mailed or delivered in person to the Supervisor of Elections no later than 7 p.m. on election day. Do not return the marked ballot to a polling place.

If you have obtained an absentee ballot but are able to vote in your precinct on election day, you must take the absentee ballot with you to the polls (whether it has been marked or not). If you are not able to return the absentee ballot, you may vote a provisional ballot.