NEWS RELEASE: Collier County Elections Office Encourages Voters to Vote by Absentee in the 2012 General Election
FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
September 24, 2012
For more information contact:
April Donahue
Communications/Election Worker Coordinator
Supervisor of Elections Office
(239) 252-8052
Voter fatigue and long lines can be diminished if more voters choose to vote by mail
Collier County, FL—September 24, 2012: Due to a lengthy ballot and anticipation of high voter turnout for the upcoming General Election, the Collier County Supervisor of Elections Office is strongly urging voters to consider voting via mail/absentee ballot. Voting by mail/absentee allows voters to avoid long lines at the polls and alleviate voter fatigue due to the 3-sheet, 6-sided ballot.
Absentee ballots, once reserved for voters who could not make it to an early voting site or the polls on Election Day, are available to any registered voter in Florida. If voting by mail/absentee, voters can vote in the comfort of their home, or wherever they are located throughout the world, and can read the ballot at their own pace. To date, over 36,500 Collier County voters have requested absentee ballots for the November 6th General Election. “Ever since Florida enacted the ‘no-excuse’ absentee voting law, more and more Collier County voters have been voting by mail,” said Jennifer Edwards, Collier County Supervisor of Elections. “This trend is beneficial to the voting process in our county, especially to voters who wish to vote at their leisure.”
Voters can request absentee ballots online via the CollierVotes.com “Vote by Mail” web page or by phone to the Supervisor of Elections at 239-252-8450. Requests for ballots to be mailed to voters must be made by 5 p.m., October 31st. After that date, voters can pick up their ballots at the Supervisor of Elections office after calling in their request.
Voters must complete and return their absentee ballots to the Supervisor of Elections by 7 p.m. on Election Day. If returning ballots via mail, voters should note that the return postage cost will be $0.65. Mail/Absentee ballots will be confirmed by comparing the signature on the returned ballot envelope with the signature in the voter registration file.
For additional absentee voting requirements, visit the CollierVotes.com “Mail/Absentee” information page. Citizens who are not yet registered to vote must do so before October 9th in order to participate in the General Election. For more details, and to update your voter information, visit www.CollierVotes.com or call the Supervisor of Elections office at (239) 252-8450.
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