WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Florida is entering the final weekend of early voting before next week's election, and Palm Beach County officials issued some reminders to residents on Thursday.
Supervisor of Elections Wendy Sartory Link said 51% of registered voters in Palm Beach County have already cast their ballots, including 348,000 by mail and 179,000 at early voting locations.
Early voting ends at 7 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 1.
Link said, at this point, elections officials are recommending that people don't mail their ballots in. That's because your ballot may not arrive at the Supervisor of Elections office by 7 p.m. on election day.
"Get it in as quickly as possible," Link said. "We've been recommended seven to 10 days is what we would recommend to get that ballot in."
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Instead, Link said you should drop your ballot off at 29 locations throughout Palm Beach County, which include early voting locations and mobile vans, along with four 24/7 drop boxes at Supervisor of Elections offices in Riviera Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, Delray Beach, and Belle Glade.
For a full list of early voting locations, mobile vans, and drop boxes in Palm Beach County, click here.
Link reminded residents that on election day, you must vote at your precinct. To find your precinct, click here.
The Supervisor of Elections office has taken safety precautions at the polls in light of the COVID-19 pandemic including requiring poll workers and voters to wear face masks, unless you have a medical exemption.
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Officials on Thursday reminded the public that voter intimidation is a felony and is strongly discouraged.
"We do have a few people who are trying to be intimidating and who are harassing people at the polls," Link said. "We are taking swift action on that."
Link said that if you're experiencing voter intimidation at a polling location, alert a poll worker or call police. Law enforcement officers will then respond and deal with the agitators.
"We are going to do what we need to do to make all of our voters feel safe," Link said. "That is something we take very, very seriously and we're not going to tolerate it."
State Attorney Dave Aronberg said law enforcement officers are not automatically stationed at polling locations because that is technically a form of voter intimidation.
"You have to call a poll worker and you call law enforcement. They will respond," Aronberg said. "If you're looking for a police officer at the poll, you will likely not find them. You'd have to call them on your own or go through the poll workers."
SPECIAL COVERAGE: Coronavirus
According to the latest numbers from the Florida Department of Health, there are 51,779 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 1,580 coronavirus-related deaths in Palm Beach County.
