Here\u2019s something to keep in mind with election season in the offing:<\/p>\n
If you recently got a new driver\u2019s license, you could have trouble getting a mail-in ballot for upcoming elections.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s what Jacksonville Today reader Shane B. recently found out. Voters who get a new driver\u2019s license need to tell the Duval County supervisor of elections.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have to call the (elections) office and update your license number, and give them the last four of your Social Security number in order to get a new mail-in ballot for the upcoming elections,\u201d Shane said.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s true, says Duval County Supervisor of Elections Jerry Holland<\/a>. He wants all registered voters to know about it.<\/p>\n If you get a new driver\u2019s license, let the elections office know because you won\u2019t be able to register for a ballot online until your information is updated. You also could have problems signing petitions for ballot initiatives, Holland said.<\/p>\n The elections office matches the driver\u2019s license number on the petition with the one it has on record. If it doesn\u2019t match, then the signature would not be counted.<\/p>\n Holland also offered this advice to voters: A new driver\u2019s license also has a new driver\u2019s license number.\u00a0You can tell by focusing on the two-digit number in the middle of the string of figures over the driver\u2019s name on the front of the card, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can tell if you have a new number if the two-digit number in your driver\u2019s license number does not represent the last two digits of your birth year,\u201d Holland said. \u201cIt is a new DL number.\u201d<\/p>\n Holland said the license bureau should ask the person getting a new license if they want to update their voter registration<\/a>. But to be safe, contact his office with the new number anyway. <\/p>\n Vote-by-mail modifications<\/p>\n The\u00a0Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles made some changes in drivers licenses<\/a> seven years ago, removing the magnetic strip on the back of the card, adding a tactile security feature to the front and changing some of the data layout.<\/p>\n In August 2020, the department added more enhancements, including redundant sexual predator and sexual offender designations as well as more ultraviolet features, to increase security and reduce the risk of fraud.<\/p>\n Holland\u2019s office sent out a news release in late March reminding voters that all previous vote\u2011by\u2011mail requests expired in December 2024<\/a>. He encouraged any voter who wishes to vote by mail in the 2026 election cycle to submit a new request.<\/p>\n