Miami-Dade sending out Vote-by-Mail ballots to those who requested them

DORAL – Vote-by-mail ballots are headed to voters.

In Miami-Dade, roughly 56,000 ballots were wheeled out of the Miami-Dade Election Headquarters on Thursday. That number is expected to increase as more people request mail-in ballots.

Here’s how it works according to Christina White, Supervisor for Elections in Miami Dade County.

“A person puts a request on file. We make sure that we get the correct ballot style for them, we have an automated system that is highly intelligent technology that puts everything into the envelope,” she said

After that, it heads to the post office where it will be sent to voters.

However, in Florida, because this is the Republican Presidential Preference Primary, this election is only for registered Republicans.

“That’s because the Democratic Party of Florida has chosen Joe Biden, so no primary is necessary for that party and there’s no ballot content for the no party affiliate,” said White.

There are two exceptions and that’s South Miami and Surfside, each has municipal content on the ballot. So all voters there are eligible to vote in this election.

Here are the dates you need to know if voting in a Presidential Preference Primary. If you want to switch your party affiliation, the deadline is February 20th. The deadline to request a mail-in ballot is March 7th. The Presidential Preference Primary is March 19th.

If voters have already put in a request for a vote-by-mail ballot, it should be in the mailbox in the next couple of days. White advises voters to vote as soon as possible and put it in the mail because if it’s not at headquarters on election day it won’t count. Not even if it’s postmarked.

White also says to make sure you sign your ballot inside the red box because that confirms its legitimacy.

In Florida, there are three options to cast your vote. You can vote by mail, you can early vote which runs from March 4th to March 17th, or you can vote at your precinct on election day.

Something to keep in mind is that Vote-by-Mail ballots have to be back at election headquarters by 7 p.m. on March 19th. You can track them online at miamidade.gov/elections. If there are mistakes you can fix them but it has to be done before the deadline.