THE V.O.T.E. VOICE OF THE ELECTIONS

Transcription

1 Summer 2012 Volume 3 Issue 2 THE V.O.T.E. VOICE OF THE ELECTIONS B r o w a r d C o u n t y S u p e r v i s o r o f E l e c t i o n s We Are Prepared for the Upcoming Elections! How about you? Dear Voter, In This Issue: Message, Dr. Snipes, Broward SOE 1 Registered Voters 1 August Primary Election Dates 2 The number 29 2 Three Ways to Vote 3 Have You Moved 4 Forensic Document Examination Class Early Voting Information Dr. Brenda C. Snipes Broward County Supervisor of Elections 4 5 Be On The Lookout 6 Great Turnout: NPC 6 The August Primary Elections are just around the corner. On Tuesday, August 14 th, polls will open for Broward County citizens who were registered to vote by July 16th, Voting hours are from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Early Voting is scheduled for an eight-day period from August 4 August 11. Early Voting hours are 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Here are some helpful tips for you to review before voting: Florida law requires voters to present a picture ID with signature. Acceptable forms of ID are: Florida Driver s License, Florida ID Card, US Passport, Military or Student ID, Public Assistance ID, Neighborhood Association Identification and Debit/Credit Card. Please note: IDs must have current signature. Any combination of picture and signature is accepted. A voter may take a marked sample ballot or other helpful information into the polling place so they may remember their choices. A sample ballot per household should be arriving shortly to each voter s home. Voters are encouraged to confirm their voting polling place by checking their voter information card or visiting our website Florida law requires that a registered voter must vote in the precinct where he or she resides. If you have moved, you are required to vote in your new home precinct. If a voter has requested an absentee ballot and later decides to vote at the polling place, he or she may bring the absentee ballot with them to be cancelled at their polling place and receive a new ballot to vote at the polls. Absentee Ballots cannot be dropped off at polling places or early voting sites. If the eligibility of a voter cannot be verified, a provisional ballot will be issued to the voter. Provisional ballot voter certificates are reviewed by the canvassing board to determine the validity of the ballot and based on their findings, the ballot will be accepted and counted or rejected and not counted. Our website contains a wealth of information. Please go to If you have any other election questions or concerns please call us at Sincerely, Dr. Brenda C. Snipes Broward County Supervisor of Elections 115 S. Andrews Ave, #102 Fort Lauderdale, FL Phone: thevote@browardsoe.org Broward Elections As of July 12, 2012 Democrat: 568,616 Republican: 256,039 Other: 270,542 Total: 1,095,197 1

2 Important Election Dates for the August Primary Election Last day to register: Monday, July 16, 2012 Last day to request an Absentee Ballot be mailed to you: Wednesday, August 8, 2012 Early Voting: Saturday August 4-Saturday August 11, :00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Election Day: Tuesday, August 14, :00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. TO CHANGE YOUR PARTY AFFILIATION, REQUESTS MUST BE SUBMITTED 29 DAYS BEFORE THE ELECTION. AFTER THAT, THE BOOKS WILL BE CLOSED AND YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO CHANGE YOUR PARTY FOR THAT ELECTION. Remember for the Primary Election: Whatever political party you are registered in on the day of the Election or Early Voting day, is a party ballot you will receive. NEW REGISTRATION ALSO CLOSES ON THIS DAY. FOR ALL U.S. CITIZENS WHO WILL REGISTER TO VOTE FOR THE FIRST TIME, YOU MUST SUBMIT AN APPLICATION 29 DAYS BEFORE THE ELECTION. YOU WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO VOTE IF YOU ARE NOT REGISTERED. BOOK CLOSING FOR THE AUGUST PRIMARY ELECTION IS: MONDAY, JULY 16,

3 3

4 HAVE YOU MOVED? PLEASE LET US KNOW. If you have moved or are planning to move and are already registered to vote in Broward County, fill out the back portion of your voter information card or complete a Florida Voter Registration Application Form and submit it to the SOE office as soon as possible so that you know where to vote (what precinct) on Election Day. If you report to your current precinct you may have to be redirected to another precinct location based on your new residential address. Voters must vote in the correct precinct based on their residential address. It is a felony to vote in a precinct in which you do not reside. If you are moving from another state or county (other than Broward), you MUST complete a Florida Voter Registration Application Form and mail it to the Supervisor of Elections office. You can download the necessary forms from our web site (see Register To Vote) or pick up a form at any "official voter registration" location. Go to: You can also send a request in writing that includes your signature., or call our office at Forensic Document examiner trains BrowarD election s staff We recently had Richard Orsini, a respected Forensic Document Examiner give classes to all of our staff on how to compare signatures. A document forensic examiner periodically visits our office to refresh the staff on signature verification. UPDATE YOUR SIGNATURE Since it is common for signatures to change through the years, voters are encouraged to update their signature by submitting a voter registration application, which can be printed from the Supervisor of Elections website Be sure to check the signature update box. It is important that the signature on the absentee ballot envelope matches the signature the Elections Department has on record. 4

5 5

6 BE ON THE LOOKOUT! Overseas Absentee Ballots For any Broward voter who is overseas and has requested an absentee ballot, they will be mailed on June 30th, Domestic Absentee Ballots For any local Broward voter who has requested an absentee ballot, they will be mailed on July 10th, New Information Cards Due to redistricting, a new voter information card will be mailed out on July 10th to every voter in Broward County. Please take time to review the information on it. Sample Ballots A sample ballot per household should be arriving shortly to each voter s home. Great Turnout at Our Neighborhood Partnership Committee Meeting! On Wednesday, June 27th, 2012 we had over 50 community leaders from different organizations come to our NPC meeting. The Neighborhood Partnership Committee Meetings are organized by the Broward Supervisor of Election s Voter Education and Outreach Department. It is a great opportunity to ask questions and take information back to your community. Our next Neighborhood Partnership Committee Meeting will be on September 26th, 2012, 3:00 p.m. at the Voting Equipment Center. If you would like to attend or for more information, please call: