Mail-in ballot requests due soon; Early voting starts in Lee, Charlotte, and Collier

Author: Paul Dolan Writer: Paul Dolan, Bryanna Sterzenbach
Published: Updated:

Early voting kicks off Monday in Lee, Charlotte, and Collier counties, with residents still having time to request a mail-in ballot before Election Day.

The presidential election is only a couple of weeks away, and early voting starts as soon as Monday in most of southwest Florida.

WINK News reporter Paul Dolan spoke with two election supervisors in Lee and Collier counties to get the details on what you need for a stress-free voting experience.

Early voting in southwest Florida isn’t too complicated, but it is popular.

We spoke with Melissa Blazier, the Supervisor of Elections in Collier County, who said, “Typical for Collier County, we have led the state of Florida in turnout for the past three presidential generals. So I’m anticipating that we will do the same for this presidential general. And early voting is extremely popular in Collier County.”

And that can translate into lines, very long lines; Blazier recommends preparing before you get in line.

“The ballot is very, very long, so it’s going to take unprepared voters–it could take upwards of 20 minutes in the voting booth,” she warned.

Early voting begins Monday in Collier County and the rest of southwest Florida—except for Glades County, which begins Oct. 26.

It lasts roughly two weeks, wrapping up the weekend before the general election on November 5th.

Blazier said, “Even with 11 locations and with a full 13 days of early voting, lines are just going to be a thing that we are going to deal with over the next two weeks.”

Tommy Doyle, the Supervisor of Elections for Lee County, echoed that voters shouldn’t be surprised to see early voting lines.

“We will have lines in the morning when we open for early voting, but it moves pretty quickly,” he said.

To avoid the lines, you can vote by mail; the deadline to request a mail-in ballot is Oct. 24 at 5 p.m.
But if you prefer to vote in person, here’s some advice from the pros.

Doyle shared the advice, “They cannot go to the polls and expect to decide what they’re going to vote for when they get there. They should already know.”

And Blazier said, “Study that sample ballot pre-mark it, bring it with you to the polls, and that way, it’s a cheat sheet.”

And a great way to make your vote count.

Hurricanes Helene and Milton did not change polling locations in Lee and Collier counties.

In Charlotte County, early voting moved from the historic courthouse to the event center.

For more information, go to your Supervisor of Elections’ website:

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