Sarasota County's vote-by-mail ballots are on the way

 Mail-in ballots for November’s general election are on the way to more than 140,000 Sarasota County voters who requested them, the county’s Supervisor of Elections office said.

More than 132,000 were mailed on Wednesday, with 7,600 more going out on Thursday. Additional ballots will be mailed as requested until the deadline at 9 a.m., Oct. 24.

About 2,400 ballots were mailed last week to overseas residents who requested a ballot or members of the military stationed away from Sarasota. 

Supervisor of Elections Ron Turner, in a prepared statement, said completed mail ballots will be accepted until the polls close at 7 p.m., Nov. 3 but he urged voters to avoid waiting that long.

“You can return your ballot in person or by mail, but please be mindful of the deadlines and request and return promptly,” he said.

Ballots can be returned by mail or in person to secure drop boxes inside elections offices in Sarasota, North Port, or Venice between 8:30 a.m . and 5 p.m. on weekdays or until 7 p.m., Nov. 3.

In his statement, Turner reminded voters to read and follow instructions included with the vote-by-mail ballots and to sign the Voters’ Certificate on the envelope. The signature must match the one on file to be valid.

Voters not already signed up to request a mail ballot may do so by visiting SarasotaVotes.com/VoteByMail or by calling 861-8618.

Voters can track their request for a ballot and its progress once completed and returned to the election office at sarasotavotes.com

For information, voters may contact the  elections office or visit SarasotaVotes.com.