Voters in South Florida urged to drop off mail ballots in person. Here’s why

Broward County’s elections supervisor is encouraging people to vote in person or drop off their mail ballots because of postal delivery concerns. But the U.S. Postal Service says it has no reason to believe that delivery of ballots would be delayed.

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Broward Supervisor of Elections Joe Scott advised voters not to risk putting their ballots in the mail because they may not get to his office in time to be counted on Tuesday, Nov. 3.

“I strongly recommend going to one of our 30 early voting locations to drop off your vote-by-mail ballot or vote in person,” Scott said Wednesday. “I urge voters to avoid putting a ballot in the mail because I don’t know how long it’s going to take the Postal Service to get it to us, and there’s a good chance it’s not going to make it here on time to be counted.”

Broward elections office spokesperson Lisa Arneaud said a higher-than-average number of voters reported not receiving their mail-in ballots. Voters, she said, also reported not seeing that their ballots were received by the office and their vote had been counted after sending them back.

Voters can track the status of mail-in ballots online through the Miami-Dade, Broward and Monroe county portals.

Postal Service spokesperson for South Florida, Debra Jean Fetterly, said USPS doesn’t believe there’s any problem or delay with mail ballot delivery.

“Local postal management reports that we are currently experiencing no delays in our processing or delivery facilities for Broward and Monroe counties,” Fetterly said. “Without a review of the actual mail pieces involved, the Postal Service is unable to comment further.”

According to Fetterly, the Postal Service is in contact with election officials, including Scott, about the concerns over delays.

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The Supervisor of Elections Office must receive all mail-in ballots by 7 p.m. on Election Day, Nov. 3. If your ballot doesn’t arrive in time, it won’t be counted.

Miami-Dade hasn’t seen postal delays, said Juan Mendieta, deputy supervisor of elections. But with Election Day quickly approaching, he recommends voters drop off their ballots or vote in person regardless to ensure their vote counts.

According to a U.S. Postal Service analysis, in the 2024 general election, 97.7% of ballots were delivered from voters to election officials within three days, but the Postal Service still recommends putting your ballot in the mail a week before Election Day to ensure delivery by the deadline.

If you prefer to drop your mail-in ballot off in person, you can do that at any early voting location in Miami-Dade or Broward through 7 p.m. Sunday.

MORE: See early voting center locations in South Florida

Or take it to the Supervisor of Elections office in Broward at 4650 NW 21st Ave. in Fort Lauderdale. In Miami-Dade, take your ballot to the Supervisor of Elections office at 2700 NW 87th Ave. in Doral.

If you want to vote on Election Day, you must go to your assigned polling location. You can find your assigned polling place by using the Miami-Dade, Broward or Monroe County online portal.

If you take your mail-in ballot to your assigned precinct on Election Day, poll workers can cancel it and allow you to vote in person.

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This story was originally published October 28, 2026 at 6:01 PM.