SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. – Did you receive mail from the Seminole County Supervisor of Elections Office within the last week asking you to confirm your address?
If so, you probably had questions about it. Here’s what we found out:
Is it legitimate?
Yes, the supervisor of elections did send out address-confirmation requests in the mail to residents in Seminole County. It states, “You are receiving this card because we want to ensure we have your correct name and address in our records. Please respond within 30 days.”
Why is this being sent out now?
Supervisor Amy Pennock says the office is required to do this maintenance in off-election years to make sure they have the most up-to-date and accurate information possible.
You can read her full statement in English and Spanish below:
In accordance with Florida Statute 98.065, our office is currently conducting its state mandated list maintenance program to ensure that the information we have on file for all 350,697 voters is as accurate and up to date as possible. We are required to use change-of-address information provided by the United States Postal Service to identify registered voters whose addresses may have changed over the past year. Once this information is processed, we send an Address Confirmation Request, the card you are referring to.
Florida Statute 98.0655 requires the Address Confirmation Request to contain the voter’s name and residence address for the voter to confirm or make changes to. Every registered voter in Seminole County will be sent an Address Confirmation Request as part of this process, with those that previously had a vote-by-mail request on file sent a combination Address Confirmation Request and VBM renewal reminder. We ask that the voter responds within 30 days, though they are not required to and there is no penalty for not doing so. Unfortunately, the vast majority do not, which slows our efforts in keeping our records as current as possible.
De acuerdo con el Estatuto de Florida 98.065, nuestra oficina está implementando el programa estatal de mantenimiento de listas para garantizar que la información que tenemos registrada de los 350,697 votantes sea lo más precisa y actualizada posible. Estamos obligados a utilizar la información de cambio de domicilio proporcionada por el Servicio Postal de los Estados Unidos para identificar a los votantes registrados cuyas direcciones hayan cambiado durante el último año. Una vez procesada esta información, enviamos una Solicitud de Confirmación de Domicilio, la tarjeta a la que usted se refiere.
El Estatuto de Florida 98.0655 exige que la Solicitud de Confirmación de Domicilio contenga el nombre y la dirección de residencia del votante para que este pueda confirmar o modificar la información. A todos los votantes registrados del Condado de Seminole se les enviará una Solicitud de Confirmación de Domicilio como parte de este proceso, y aquellos que ya han solicitado previamente voto por correo se les enviará una Solicitud de Confirmación de Domicilio junto con un recordatorio de renovación de voto por correo. Solicitamos que el votante responda en un plazo de 30 días, aunque no está obligado a hacerlo y no hay ninguna sanción por no hacerlo. Desafortunadamente, la gran mayoría no lo hace, lo que dificulta nuestros esfuerzos por mantener nuestros registros lo más actualizados posible.
Seminole County Elections Supervisor Amy Pennock
What happens if I don’t respond?
According to the Seminole County Supervisor of Elections Office, there is no penalty if you choose not to respond. You can either return the postcard with a postage stamp to affirm the information on file is correct, or sign and return the postcard with your updated information.
If you do not want to pay for postage, the office says you can also change your information online at VoteSeminole.gov or by calling the office 407-585-8683.
What if I didn’t receive a postcard?
There are 350,697 voters in Seminole County, but mailers only went out to more than 286,000 voters last week. Keep an eye on your mailbox, a second mailing will be sent to voters with an expiring Vote-by-Mail request and will include both a Vote-by-Mail renewal notice and an address-confirmation request.