Broward elections chief urges voters to vote early amid mail ballot concerns

Broward County’s top elections official is urging voters to consider voting early in person instead of relying on vote-by-mail ballots amid concerns about delays involving the U.S. Postal Service.

Broward County Supervisor of Elections Joe Scott said his office has received complaints from voters who say they never received their requested vote-by-mail ballots. Other voters who mailed completed ballots back have reported tracking information showing their ballots sitting at Postal Service facilities instead of making their way to the elections office.

Broward voter Joseph Baptiste is among those concerned about where his ballot may be.

“I’m 73 years old now. I came in to this country when I was 23. I have never seen anything like that,” Baptiste said.

Scott said the problems have become serious enough that he is recommending voters use early voting rather than risk potential mail delays.

“The Postal Service, the quality of the service, has just dropped tremendously,” Scott said.

Scott said a large batch of ballots from Hallandale Beach was recently discovered sitting at a postal facility for about a week.

Similar concerns are being raised in Monroe County, where Supervisor of Elections Sherri Hodies said officials have encountered problems with vote-by-mail ballots being returned from several other states.

“Missouri, Minnesota, several out east, Connecticut, New Hampshire also Rhode Island, Virginia. So it is not just one section of the United States,” Hodies said. “It is many of the states, and we don’t know if it is happening on their side or if it is happening on our side.”

Scott said his office has been in contact with Postal Service officials, but he has struggled to get an explanation for what is causing the problems.

“You don’t really get any answers because they don’t really have the ability to tell us what is really going on,” Scott said.

When asked why, Scott said, “I’m not sure why, but I think that there is a lack of transparency.”

NBC6 reached out to local Postal Service officials about the complaints. They said the concerns have been elevated to Postal Inspection Service headquarters in Washington, D.C.

If you want to track your ballot status look to these links: 

Broward County: Check your ballot status

Miami-Dade County: Check your ballot status

Monroe County: Check your ballot status

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