Vote-by-Mail voting refers to casting a ballot that you request in advance without having to vote at a polling location during early voting or on Election Day. You can have your Vote-by-Mail Ballot delivered to you in the mail or collected by someone on your behalf and you do not need to provide an excuse to request a Vote-by-Mail Ballot.
Who Can Vote-by-Mail?
If you are a registered Broward County voter, you are entitled to vote by mail.
Requesting a Vote-By-Mail Ballot
You can request your ballot in writing by signing your written request and submitting it in any of the following ways:
- Click here to request your Vote-by-Mail Request Application online.
- Send your signed Vote-by-Mail request by email to VBM@browardvotes.gov, by fax to (954) 357-7033, or by mail at PO Box 29001, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33302-9001).
- In person requests can be made at your Supervisor of Elections’ main and permanent branch offices (click here for a list of the main and branch offices).
- To request your ballot by phone call us at (954) 357-7055.
The request must include the following information:
- The voter's name;
- The voter’s date of birth;
- The voter’s address (If the request is to mail the ballot to an address other than the one on file, the request must be a signed written request. An exception exists for absent uniformed service voter or an overseas voter seeking a Vote-by-Mail Ballot.);
- The voter’s Florida driver license, Florida identification card, or last four digits of the elector’s social security number, whichever may be verified in the supervisor’s records;
- The voter’s signature (if the request is written).
A voter can designate an immediate family member (the voter's spouse, parent, child, grandparent, grandchild, or sibling); the voter's spouse, parent, child, grandparent, grandchild, or sibling or the voter's legal guardian, or a designee for a voter with a disability to request the ballot on their behalf.
The following additional information is required for the request if the request is made on behalf of the voter:
- The requestor’s address;
- The requestor’s driver license number, state identification card, or the last four digits of the elector’s social security number (if available);
- The requestor’s relationship to the voter;
- The requestor’s signature (if the request is written).
Who Can Pick Up a Vote-by-Mail Ballot
A voter can pick up their own vote-by-mail ballot at any time once ballots for requests already on file have been mailed, including Election Day.
A voter can designate any person to pick up their ballot. The designee can pick up the ballot once ballots for requests already on file have been mailed. A designee is limited to picking up vote-by-mail ballots for two other voters per election (not including their own ballot and the ballots for immediate family members). An immediate family member refers to the designee's spouse, parent, child, grandparent, grandchild, or the designee’s spouse’s parent, child, grandparent, grandchild, or sibling.
The designee must submit an affidavit to pick-up the voter’s blank ballot. Form DS-DE 162 is a combination form that includes the affidavit for ballot pick-up, the written authorization for the designee and if a request is not already on record, the voter’s request for a vote-by-mail ballot.
If a voter or designee waits until the start of mandatory early voting or up through Election Day to pick up or have delivered a vote-by-mail ballot, a special affidavit must also be completed. The voter must affirm in the affidavit that an emergency exists that keeps the voter from being able to vote at a designated early voting site in his or her county or at his or her assigned polling place on Election Day. The affidavit is part of Form DS-DE 162.
Voting a Vote-by-Mail Ballot
Instructions for voting using a Vote-by-Mail Ballot are included with the ballot itself. Be sure to read all instructions carefully. Remember to sign your Vote-by-Mail Ballot Certificate located on the outside of the envelope provided. Your Supervisor of Elections is required to notify you and allow you to cure if your signature is missing or does not match the signature on record. Do not write your name on the ballot itself.
Note: Florida does not require a witness to complete a ballot certificate.
Returning Your Vote-by-Mail Ballot
You can return your completed Vote-by-Mail Ballot securely through the mail to your Supervisor of Elections’ Office or in-person at designated secure ballot intake stations (drop boxes). For your vote to count, your Supervisor of Election must receive your voted ballot no later than 7 p.m. (local time) on Election Day. If sent by mail, it can be sent via the United States Postal Service (USPS) or any other private or commercial carrier, as long as it arrives at the Supervisor of Elections’ Office by 7 p.m. (local time) on Election Day. Online, email, and fax returns are not accepted. Special rules apply to overseas voters (both civilian and military) who can return their ballots by mail or fax. Click here for more information on Overseas and Military Voters.
Secure drop boxes are available for returning voted Vote-by-Mail Ballots at the main and permanent branch offices of the Supervisor of Elections (Click here for SOE main and branch offices) until 7 p.m. (local time) on election day. Additionally, during Early Voting, secure drop boxes are accessible at designated early voting sites (click here for SOE early voting sites).
Voted Vote-By-Mail Ballots cannot be returned at polling places on Election Day. If you wish to vote at a polling place on Election Day, bring your Vote-By-Mail Ballot with you to the polling place for it to be cancelled before you vote a regular ballot.
For more information about voting by mail, visit Florida’s Division of Elections website: Vote-by-Mail - Division of Elections - Florida Department of State (myflorida.com)