When voting in person, by provisional ballot or by mail, Florida election law requires each voter to sign a Voter’s Certificate. While an exact match of a voter’s signature is not required, the signature must reasonably match the signature of record.
WHY SHOULD I UPDATE MY SIGNATURE
All voters should consider periodically updating their signatures on file with our office.
Ensuring that the signature on file with our office is the most current will help alleviate delays at the polls when matching the signature at check in, and can prevent a Vote-by-Mail ballot from being disqualified due to a non-matching signature.
You should update your signature if:
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Your signature has changed over time;
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You have recently updated your signature at the Driver License office and experienced difficulty with electronic signature pad;
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You decided to change the style of signature or have adopted different styles of signature for professional and personal use;
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Your name has recently changed;
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You have received an injury or change in motor skills which has affected your handwriting;
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The signature in your voter file is over 10-years-old and may lack sufficient detail for comparison with current signature.
HOW DO I UPDATE MY VOTER SIGNATURE?
To update a signature, Florida Statute 98.077(1) requires an original signature (not electronic) on a Florida Voter Registration Application form.
Download and print, in color if possible, a Florida Voter Registration Application from our website, or request one from our office at 239-252-VOTE (8683). Mail or deliver the original application to our office.
The application is used for both new and updated or changed registrations. If already registered, voters should check the “Record Update/Change” box, and complete items 1 through 7, and item 12 (original signature).
Note: To update other information (such as address, party affiliation, or name), show those changes on the same application rather than a separate application.
For voters who routinely use different styles of signature (professional versus personal), we recommend keeping a copy of the updated voter registration application as a reminder of which signature is used for voting purposes.
If you have questions or are unsure of the voter signature we have in our files, please call our office at 239-252-VOTE (8683).
CAN MY POWER OF ATTORNEY (POA) SIGN MY BALLOT?
Per Florida Attorney General Opinion 78-89.
“An agent appointed pursuant to a power of attorney may be authorized to do whatever one can lawfully do individually, except those acts so peculiarly personal that their performance cannot be delegated. … The authorities and decisional case law are in general accord that the acts of voting and registration are of such personal character that they may not be delegated to an agent, …”