Early voting in person starts Monday in hundreds of locations in all Central Florida counties except Marion and Sumter.
Nonpartisan voting groups like the League of Women Voters are encouraging people to take advantage of the opportunity.
Kathy Sheerin has been voting early by mail or in person for 30 years because it makes voting easy.
“Whatever's the most convenient for you,” Sheerin said. “You can go before work, after work, they're open on the weekends, so you really don't have an excuse why you can't vote.”
Sheerin is the co-president of the League of Women Voters of Orange County. She says voting early by mail makes it easier to identify and fix any errors on ballots before it’s too late, like forgetting to sign a mail-in ballot.
And it helps reduce long lines for other voters on election day, by spreading out demand over several days.
“Say you're going to vote on election day,” Sheerin said. “Suppose, God forbid, something happens: Your car breaks down. You get sick. There's a bad traffic accident. You can't get to the poll by 7o'clock, and then you, then you don't get to vote. So why take the chance?”
Florida voters will choose their local leaders and state lawmakers. They’ll decide a major property tax issue and pick the state’s next governor, U.S. Senator and congressional delegation.
Unlike voting on election day, early voting can be done in person at any early voting location.
Mail-in voting in the Nov. 3 general election has been underway for several weeks now. The deadline to request a mail-in ballot is Thursday, Oct. 22.
Under Florida law, counties don’t have to offer early voting until 10 days before the election, but they can offer it up to 5 days before that.
Voters can find the locations and times for early voting on the websites for their county supervisor of elections.
Starting on Monday are the following counties:
Marion County voters will have to wait until Thursday to cast their ballots in person. In Sumter County, early voting starts Saturday, Oct. 24.
