Mail-in voting has been a hotly contested method for several years, but in the Florida 2026 Primary, security is the thing on everyone's mind.
While scrutiny focuses on the security of the vote-by-mail method, many of the issues lie with the voters themselves.
“So, the two biggest issues with vote-by-mail ballots are that you failed to sign the certificate and you sent it back blank, or the signature you put on the envelope doesn't match the signature we have on file now,” said Okaloosa County Election Supervisor Paul Lux.
Even if voters fail to provide their proper information initially, they can request what is called a CURE affidavit, which allows a grace period for the ballot to be returned to the voter so they can correct their mistake.
Track your ballot links: Okaloosa | Santa Rosa | Escambia
Mail-in ballot security is taken seriously in election offices, to the point where supervisors and their staff undergo required forensics training to identify discrepancies.
“Every ballot is required to be signed by the voter," said Lux. “There is no proxy; there is no power of attorney. It has to be signed by the voter, period. We actually verify the signatures on every single vote-by-mail ballot that we receive. And not only is every signature checked, but every person on my staff, myself included, is required to have training, specifically done by forensic signature experts to train us on how to look for things that might indicate signatures may not be valid or may be fraudulent.”
Mail-in ballot drop-off locations are more secure than one may be led to believe. Locations include early voting sites and election supervisor offices.
“The law requires those boxes be manned by a person, not just a camera on it,” said Lux, “You got to have a person standing there to assist anybody. All of the things about ballot harvesting that everybody worries about and things like that, Florida has closed almost all of those loopholes legally some time ago.”
RELATED: WUWF Voter Guide
Election offices are the primary source voters should use when seeking information on not only the security of mail-in voting, but also any election information they may need regarding where to vote, how to track their ballot, and any documents they may need to update before going to vote.
“What we encourage people to do is to use every county's elections office as their trusted source of information," said Santa Rosa Election Supervisor Tappie Villane. “Don't believe something at face value that you see on Facebook. We just always encourage folks to call us. Pick up the phone and call us. Go to our website. Get in touch with us. Let us know what their concerns are. Again, it may be something that we don't do here in Florida. Or something that we need to look into.”
One of the concerns Paul Lux urges voters to remember is that mail-in voter requests are only active for a set period.
“The biggest thing people need to understand about voting by mail now is that your request is only good through the end of the next regularly scheduled general election cycle,” Lux said.
This means that you must renew your request after every cycle if you wish to continue voting by mail in future elections.
While the period for mail-in and early voting in the Primary has ended, the same information will apply to the General Election. The General Election takes place November 3; voters have until October 22 to request a mail-in ballot.
