Too late to mail your primary ballot? How to ensure it’s counted

Still planning to mail your ballot for the primary election? With only a few days left before Election Day, it might arrive too late by mail. But there are other ways to ensure your vote counts.

To be counted, your completed vote-by-mail ballot must be received by the Supervisor of Elections Office by 7 p.m. Tuesday, on Election Day, in Broward and Palm Beach counties.

Voting guidelines advise against mailing back a ballot within a week of Election Day, because the ballot may not reach the elections office in time to be counted.

But voters still can provide their ballots in person at a Supervisor of Elections Office, at an early-voting site during voting hours, or at a Secure Ballot Intake Station.

Early voting sites will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. in Palm Beach County, and from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. in Broward County, through Sunday, Aug. 16.

Secure ballot intake stations, also called drop boxes, are located outside each elections office and are accessible during office hours.

On Primary Day itself, the drop box at the Palm Beach County Main Office, located at 4301 Cherry Road in West Palm Beach, will be open from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. Other Palm Beach offices and Secure Ballot Intake Stations will be accessible until 5 p.m. on Election Day.

In Broward County, the Main Office is located at 4650 NW 21st Ave., in Fort Lauderdale. That office, as well as Secure Ballot Intake Stations, also will be open from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. on Election Day.

Some drop boxes at elections office sites may not be accessible this weekend, though early voting sites will be open. More hours are available on each browardvotes.gov, for Broward County, and votepalmbeach.gov, for Palm Beach County.

To track a ballot’s progress once it is turned in, voters can sign up to receive updates from the Supervisor of Elections Office.

Anyone who has received a vote-by-mail ballot can still opt to vote in person instead.

At early voting sites and on Election Day, a voter can hand in and cancel their vote-by-mail ballot at the polls and vote with a regular ballot instead.

On Aug. 18, polls in both counties will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

On Election Day, voters can only cast their ballots at the polling site listed on their voter information card. To find their polling location and check their voter status, voters can visit the two counties’ websites.