Record number of vote by mail ballots in Duval County already submitted

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Early voting is weeks away, but as of Tuesday, more than 7,000 vote by mail ballots have been turned in to the Duval County Supervisor of Elections Office.

The number of mail ballots coming in are record-breaking, according to election staff members. People are also showing up downtown, requesting a ballot, filling them out and immediately dropping them off to be counted on Election Day.

Ingrid and Barbara Chavez were downtown at the office on Tuesday. Ingrid Chavez is from California and was visiting her mother, Barbarba Chavez, who lives in Jacksonville.

The mother, a 74-year-old, has never voted before.

“This is our big mommy-daughter affair, get her registered to vote for the first time ever,” Ingrid Chavez said.

It’s a similar story for Robert Miller who is also voting for the first time.

“This is the most important election in my lifetime,” Miller said.

Others, like Dean Martin, were in line just to drop off a mail ballot.

“I want to make sure my vote counts. I want to make sure to avoid the rush,” Martin said.

Some people, like Willie Jackson, just don’t trust the mail and wanted to do it all in-person before Election Day.

"You’ve got to be prepared,” Jackson said.

One of the major problems people have been running into is the envelope itself. It is kind of complicated to seal off because there is a secrecy sleeve to cover up your signature.

RELATED: Avoid these common mistakes made when filling in, returning mail-in ballots

Check out this video from Supervisor of Elections Office for more information about voting by mail:


About the Author:

Jim Piggott is the reporter to count on when it comes to city government and how it will affect the community.