WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — More than 1.7 million vote-by-mail ballots have been returned in Florida, according to the latest figures from the Florida Secretary of State. Another 3.8 million ballots have been mailed out but not returned, putting the state on pace to exceed the total number of vote-by-mail votes cast in both the 2018 and 2016 general election.
Florida voters can request a vote-by-mail ballot up until 10 days before the general election on Nov. 3.
Palm Beach County began counting mail-in ballots Tuesday, with just over 170,000 returned in the county so far. The county leads the state in total mail-in ballots returned to date.
"It's the opening that started on Saturday and then on Monday opening and some tabulation, today continued opening again with more tabulation," Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Wendy Sartory Link said.
Link told WPTV up to 40,000 votes may end up being counted Tuesday. The results won't be known until Election Day.
According to state figures, Palm Beach County has mailed out an additional 277,000 ballots that have not been mailed in.
Indian River County began counting mail-in ballots Monday, and similar work is taking place in St. Lucie County. Martin County will begin tabulating mail-in votes Oct. 25.
Statewide, registered Democrats currently outpace registered Republicans in vote-by-mail ballots returned. Democrats have mailed in more than 904,000 ballots, while Republicans have returned more than 519,000 ballots. Voters registered with third parties have cast just over 20,000 mail-in ballots, and voters with no party affiliation have returned more than 336,000 vote-by-mail ballots.
On the Treasure Coast, both Indian River and Martin counties have had just over 21,900 mail-in ballots returned. St. Lucie County has seen more than 26,200 vote-by-mail ballots returned, and Okeechobee County has had more than 2,200 ballots mailed in.
INTERACTIVE MAPS OF MAIL-IN BALLOTS RETURNED BY COUNTY ARE AVAILABLE BELOW.
Florida Vote-by-Mail Ballots – All Voters - 2020 General Election - Data as of 10/13/2020
Florida Vote-by-Mail Ballots - Registered Republicans - 2020 General Election - Data as of 10/13/2020
Florida Vote-by-Mail Ballots - Registered Democrats - 2020 General Election - Data as of 10/13/2020
