Over 2,000 voters submit mail-in ballots in person in Lee County same day

More than 2,000 voters in Lee County turned in their mail-in ballots in person for the November election Thursday.

Lee County’s Supervisor of Elections says this is not common so far ahead of an election, but voters tell us they’re not taking any chances ahead of the election.

Because of how many people dropped off their mail-in-ballots in person, Supervisor Tommy Doyle and his office set up a drive-thru drop-off for mail-in ballots.

It’s something Doyle says will make it easier for voters and clear up any confusion about where to drop them off.

“At the elections center, we’re 400 before noon,” Doyle said.

Voters are making sure their vote counts.

“If I signed it wrong or the signature didn’t match, I wanted to be able to correct it,” Doug Zanter said.

“We wanted to vote and make sure that it got in,” Carlene Cummings said.

Others said this is a reflection of their trust for the U.S. Postal Service.

“To make sure it got here,” Nancy Harpster said.

“We don’t trust the post office,” Paula Byington said.

“We know it’s here if we put it in,” Jackie Noll said.

Doyle says more than 200,000 mail-in ballots were sent to people in Lee County Tuesday, and he’s never seen so many brought back in person in a single day this early before the election.

“We’re already getting them back, so that means postal service is doing a good job,” Doyle said.

Voters have already done their research.

“I had already made my mind up for the ballot,” Zanter said.

And there’s only one thing left to do.

“Just vote,” Cumming said. “Vote, vote, vote.”

Doyle says he expects to see this kind of response from voters at least through the week, so he’s looking at creating drive-thru drop-offs at the other branches.

Collier County Supervisor of Elections Office anticipates record-breaking amount of mail-in ballots