WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A viewer reached out to WPTV News anchor Hollani Davis after receiving her mail-in ballot for the November general election.
At first glance, everything looked OK. However, when Gwen Tuggle placed her ballot in the secrecy slip and was getting ready to stuff it in the return envelope, she couldn't open it. The return envelope was already sealed shut.
Tuggle said she really grew concerned when she called the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Office and a worker told her to take a letter opener and open the envelope and then tape it shut.
"My reaction was, it's going to look like it's tampered with, because you're going to open it, not at the right place. But then you're telling people to tape it back," Tuggle said.
Tuggle reached out to Davis because she said what also caught her off guard was that the sealed envelope didn't seem to come as a surprise to election workers.
Davis reached out to the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections office. Here's what she found out about the ballot blunder. Blame the weather.
"The return envelopes mailed within the package has a seal. The moisture and humidity sometimes cause the glue to seal in transit. The envelopes are unsealed when they are sent from our office. There aren't any bad batches of envelopes," said Alison Novoa, with the Supervisor of Elections Office.
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The elections staff said the most important thing to remember is that they need to be able to verify the signature on the return envelope in order for it to be valid.
If you get a "weathered" envelope, you can still use it. If you want a new one, you can reach out to the elections supervisor.
Voters have until Thursday to request a new vote-by-mail ballot. If you get a new mail-in ballot, you can use the original ballot and place it into the new envelope or use the brand-new ballot and envelope. You're asked to rip up the contents you don't use.
Voters should also know that the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Office must receive vote-by-mail ballots from stateside voters no later than 7 p.m. on Election Day, Nov. 5.
If a voter waits until Election Day to return their vote-by-mail ballot, they can return it to the main office, located at 4301 Cherry Road in West Palm Beach, by 7 p.m., or to one of the branch offices by 5 p.m.
There is a 10-day extension for the Supervisor of Elections office to receive a ballot that is postmarked by Election Day, Nov. 5 from overseas voters.
