With the General Election results looming, the Escambia County Supervisor of Elections Office is in full swing, counting thousands of vote-by-mail ballots in a process open to public scrutiny.
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In the elections warehouse on Navy Boulevard in Pensacola, Robert Bender, Escambia County supervisor of elections, leads the effort. He oversees a transparent counting process that’s crucial to maintaining voter confidence.
“Harris. Powell. No. Yes. No. No... Trump. Scott…,” Bender calls out, his voice echoing in the room as he and two other canvassing board members hand-count ballots that automated machines couldn't process.
The canvassing board
The canvassing board, comprising Bender, a county court judge serving as chair, and the chair of the board of county commissioners, pores over each contested ballot. Their goal: to determine voter intent when markings are unclear.
“The voter had initially marked one way and realized they wanted the other,” Bender explained. “So they put a big X through the ‘no’ and bubbled in the ‘yes.’ The machine picks it up as marked for both.”
In such cases, the canvassing board’s role becomes crucial.
“We're able to look at the voter intent,” Bender said. “We duplicate the ballot, putting a unique identifier on it so we can always go back to the original if needed.”
The office has already processed more than 20,000 vote-by-mail ballots, a measure to ensure a smoother election night. “Within 30 minutes of the polls closing on election night, we have to release the vote-by-mail results and the early vote results,” Bender stated.
Over 60% of results will be released as polls close
Bender anticipates a significant portion of votes will be tallied quickly.
“We're having a great turnout on early voting," he said. "We expect that there will be over 60% between those two methods that will be released, hopefully within minutes of the polls closing.”
For voters concerned about mail-in ballots not arriving in time, Bender offers reassurance and alternatives.
“If it hasn't been received yet, they can go to an early vote site or on Election Day to a precinct,” he advised. The county's voting system updates in realtime, preventing double voting and ensuring every valid vote counts.
The elections warehouse, equipped with a windowed observation room, allows public viewing of the process. This open-door policy is part of broader efforts to maintain election integrity and public trust.
As Florida prepares for potential close races, Bender remains confident in the state's ability to deliver timely results.
“Unless it’s just a really tight race, Florida is going to be decided on election night,” he predicted. However, he noted that if final results fall within a half-percent margin, a manual recount could follow machine tabulation.
The early processing of mail-in ballots is key to this efficiency.
“Thirty percent of our vote just from that will be processed, and we're not having to wait on that,” Bender explained.
As Election Day approaches, the warehouse continues its steady rhythm of ballot processing.
For more information on elections, visit escambiavotes.gov.
