FORT MYERS, Fla – During Tuesday’s 2020 presidential debate, the candidates argued about mail-in voting. President Trump said it would lead to election fraud, while former Vice President Joe Biden said the president is just trying to scare people away from voting.
Fox 4 reached out to local election offices, to see what they’re doing to make sure ballots are secure.
Lee County Supervisor of Elections Tommy Doyle said one of the easiest ways to make sure your ballot is secure is to consider dropping it off at one of the election offices yourself.
This year with the Coronavirus, you can use the drive-up spots which allow you to hand your ballot directly to a poll worker. There are also drop boxes where you can drop it in yourself. And if you're mailing your ballot back, keep in mind that you can track it online. You're able to see when it was sent to you, when they received it and when it was counted.
There's also strict protocols in place when it comes to things like verifying signatures, and a team dedicated to contacting you if there's any discrepancy to make sure it's cured and your vote is counted.
Election security has been top of mind for many voters, due to the significant increase in mail-in voting ballots requested.
“We're seeing quite a bit more requests coming in. Right now we're at 220,000 which is 40,000 more than we had 2018,” said Lee County Supervisor of Elections Tommy Doyle.
He said Lee County residents should start to see their ballots in their mailboxes for the most part by Saturday.
There’s also be questions about how long the process to tabulate mail-in voting ballots could take, given the substantial increase.
Doyle said the governor’s executive order due to COVID-19 will allow them to start opening earlier, on October 12.
