FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – About 260,0000 Broward County residents have decided to vote by mail. Broward County Supervisor of Elections Pete Antonacci attributes the vote-by-mail response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Antonacci said they have mailed out millions of ballots. He is anticipating more than a third of registered voters will be mailing their ballots.
“There is more virus reports and so I think people will start reacting to that a little as well,” Antonacci said.
Miami-Dade County Supervisor of Elections Christina White is also expecting an increase. Miami-Dade commissioners voted to send out mailers to about 700,000 voters this month and they have already received about 34,000 responses.
CONTROVERSY
According to an analysis by the National Conference of State Legislatures, Florida is among the eight states that allow some elections to be conducted by mail.
Concerns over the coronavirus pandemic have prompted many to support nationwide vote-by-mail for the November election. Only five states hold all elections by mail: Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, Utah and Washington.
Despite having been able to vote by mail himself, President Donald Trump has expressed his opposition to its expansion nationwide citing the possibility of “substantially fraudulent” elections.
More than 70% of Americans believe every voter should be able to opt to vote by mail, a Pew Research Center poll found earlier this year.
Do you want to vote by mail?
Voters can request a mail ballot online: