Because there’s not millions of dollars being spent to hype 2022 as THE MOST IMPORTANT ELECTION OF YOUR LIFE, it might be possible that some voters are blithely unaware that there is an ongoing primary election.
And while it may not involve presidential behemoths, there are a lot of important state and local races to be decided, leaving the elections offices in Volusia and Flagler counties busy reconfiguring precincts, determining who lives in the district maps new for 2022 and — yes, already — mailing the first batches of ballots.
For traditional voters, the election is Aug. 23. But because of redistricting, much has changed, including many district boundaries and precincts.
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Here’s a look at some new bits of business being undertaken by the local supervisors of elections.
How to return your mail ballot
In Volusia County, the supervisor of elections, Lisa Lewis, said her office mailed a little more than 142,000 ballots to voters last Thursday.
Flagler County Supervisor Kaiti Lenhart said she mailed another 27,600 on Friday.
While there’s plenty of time to mail ballots back, voters who want to return them in person can do so by stopping at the Supervisor of Elections Office, 1750 S. Woodland Blvd., DeLand, where a secure drop box is available during business hours, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Supervisors remind voters to sign their envelopes before mailing ballots back.
The deadline to register to vote in the primary is Monday, July 25.
New voter registration cards en route
The Volusia County Elections Supervisor will this week mail 405,000 active voters new voter registration cards.
Volusia County has increased its number of precincts from 125 to 134, due to growth and redistricting. New boundaries have been established for Congress, splitting Volusia County into the 6th and 7th districts, the state Legislature as well as the County Council and School Board.
The cards will not be allowed to be used for identification purposes during balloting, but provide voters with information for which districts they will be voting.
“I encourage all voters to review their new voter information card. Get familiar with what you are voting on, where your polling location is, and when you are voting,” Lewis said.
To update your information, change your party information or view your sample ballot, visit www.VolusiaElections.gov or FlaglerElections.com.
Flagler County has joined Volusia in offering voters a means to track their mail ballots. BallotTrax can send voters texts, emails or voicemail messages informing them when their ballot has been mailed, when it’s been received and counted, or if there’s a problem.
“This tracking service will help our voters who vote by mail, giving them confidence that their ballot has been received and counted by our office,” Lenhart said.
Volusia offers accessible ballots
Lewis also recently announced that Volusia County will continue a partnership with Democracy Live, a firm that offers an accessible vote-by-mail option. More than 30 voters used the method in 2020 in Volusia County.
“My goal is to have safe and transparent elections, where all voters that are eligible to vote have the opportunity to vote, in the method that best suits them,” Lewis said.
The Democracy Live option allows voters to mark a mail ballot at home using accessibility tools with which they have familiarity.
Lewis said the ballots are much the same as other mail ballots. In this case, voters get a link to access their ballot. They must provide specific information to open the ballot. Then their computer will read the ballot to them and they can use a marking device, allowing voters to make their selections independently.
When they are finished, they can print their ballot and mail it back to the elections office.
“We mail a vote by mail packet to them with a raised sticker by the signature line to mark where they need to sign the voter’s certificate,” Lewis said. “Signatures are still verified, as with all ballots returned.”
Flagler needs poll workers
Lenhart sent a news release Tuesday seeking poll workers for early voting and election day. Training classes are ongoing for jobs including clerk, assistant clerk, book inspector, ballot box inspector and deputy. For more information, call 386-313-4170 or visit the supervisor’s website to download an application.
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