LARGO, Fla. — Voters lined up outside of the Pinellas Supervisor of Elections Office on Monday to drop off their mail-in ballots, which has become a popular way to vote.
"It gives me some time to think and not have to rush on decisions," said Jackie Schafer-Larson, who was turning in her mail-in ballot.
But Schafer-Larson said she does question the elections process.
"I vote and cross my fingers that something is in place to make sure things are done honestly," said Schafer-Larson.
And honesty is something many, like Jessica Carroll, are working tirelessly to make sure of. She dropped off her mail-in ballot Monday because she is working at a polling place on Tuesday and said she has no doubt in the integrity of the process.
"I couldn’t be more confident especially working at a polling place and going through the training. I see all of the different things and seeing all that goes into play of the election process," said Carroll.
Inside the Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections Office, staff are counting thousands of mail-in ballots like they’ve been doing for the past few weeks. Elections supervisor Julie Marcus said if there is something wrong with the ballot, it goes to a review board to record it accurately.
"We make a true duplicate of the ballot. So where that mistake was made, we would determine voter intent by the canvassing board and then fill in the rest of the ballot and process it so all of those votes are counted," said Marcus.
Florida has several statewide integrity safeguards in place.
Before each election, every county performs an accuracy test to make sure the voting system is counting votes correctly.
During the election, voting machines are never connected to the internet. When voting is completed and the polls are closed, election workers use cellular modems to transmit preliminary, unofficial election night results back to the main office of the supervisor of elections.
And after every election, each county must perform a post-election audit of the votes
"We want to make sure that we conduct fair, accurate, and secure elections. It's that voter confidence that is absolutely key to a healthy republic," said Marcus.
And regardless of who they voted for, voters we spoke with agree that voting is important.
"You need to go out to the polls like your vote is the only vote that matters," said Carroll.
If you do have a mail-in ballot that has not yet been submitted, Marcus said you can drop it off at three different Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections offices on Tuesday before 7 p.m.
Or show up to your polling place to vote in person. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, November 8.
