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Osceola County Supervisor of Elections Mary Jane Arrington is urging registered voters who tally by mail to request new ballots after new legislation passed in 2022 now cancels vote-by-mail requests after each election cycle.
Osceola County Supervisor of Elections Mary Jane Arrington is urging registered voters who tally by mail to request new ballots after new legislation passed in 2022 now cancels vote-by-mail requests after each election cycle.
Under Senate Bill 90, the new law requires residents to request a vote-by-mail ballot every general election cycle, meaning that requests are now only good for two years, instead of four “This meant that the 76,779 vote by mail requests that we had on file were canceled on Dec. 31. Voters must now make a new request to receive a mail ballot,” Arrington said. “As of today, we have 24,706 mail ballot requests on file. I believe many voters are going to go right up to Election Day and wonder where their mail ballot is, not realizing they had to file a new request. We are all creatures of habit.”
Because the law requires an identifying number to request a mail ballot, Arrington stressed that the Supervisor of Elections’ Office has tirelessly worked to secure the numbers for all Osceola’s registered voters.
“We only have 2,175 voters who do not have an identifying number on file. When this law was first adopted, we had 15,300 voters who did not have an identifying number on file. You can not request a mail ballot with out one,” Arrington said.
It’s a new law that Arrington fears will negatively affect voter turnout.
“Vote by mail is the number one choice of how Osceola County voters vote,” she said. “In the 2022 election cycle, half of Osceola County voters voted by mail. Not only do you have to request a mail ballot again, but the time available for us to mail that ballot to you has also been reduced. The law also changed when the last day for a ballot to be mailed to 12 days before the election.”
In addition, the SOE had provided voters a box to check on the back of the ballot envelope if they wanted to keep receiving one – not anymore.
“We had to discontinue that practice, because you now must provide your identifying number to request a mail ballot. This was really convenient for voters,” Arrington said.
To request a mail ballot, visit the Osceola County Supervisor of Election’s website at http://www.voteosceola.gov or call the office at 407-742-6000.
“Please request your mail ballot if you have not done so,” Arrington said. It’s easy.”
