The Sarasota County elections office sent 132,796 vote-by-mail ballots for the Nov. 3 general election on Sept. 24, and approximately 7,600 more on Sept. 25, to domestic voters who have requests on file, Supervisor of Elections Ron Turner announced this week. Following these initial mailings, vote-by-mail ballot requests will be processed, and ballots mailed daily, as needed.

A request for a ballot to be mailed to a voter must be received by the elections office by 5 p.m. on Saturday, October 24,to allow enough time for the ballot to reach the voter and be returned to the elections office in time to be counted. A request may be submitted online at sarasotavotes.com/votebymail or by calling (941) 861-8618.

Turner urges voters who choose to vote by mail to request and return their ballots promptly. Voted ballots must be received in the elections office by 7 p.m. on election night, Nov. 3. Voters may return their ballots by mail or in person to secure drop boxes located inside all three elections offices in Sarasota, North Port, or Venice during regular business hours (8:30 a.m.–5 p.m., Monday-Friday, and until 7 p.m. on election night, Nov. 3). Turner reminds voters to follow the instructions included with vote-by-mail ballots to ensure their ballots are counted, and to complete and sign the Voter’s Certificate on the ballot return envelope. The voter’s signature should match the signature on record in the Florida Voter Registration System to be counted. Voters may track their vote-by-mail ballots at sarasotavotes.com from the time their requests for a ballot are processed until their voted ballots have been received in the elections office and tabulated.  To track, click on the “Vote by Mail” icon on the home page, select “Track Your Vote-by-Mail Ballot,” and follow the easy instructions.