SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. – With Florida’s Aug. 18 primary just over a month away, real vote-by-mail ballots are already coming back to Seminole County.
News 6 got an inside look Friday at how those ballots are checked and counted, including a new audit system that will scan every ballot a second time.
During one demonstration, a machine sent a ballot into a separate tray after it could not process it automatically. Seminole County Supervisor of Elections Amy Pennock said that does not mean the ballot is rejected. It means a worker must examine it before it can move forward.
“They’re counted at every step of the way,” Pennock said.
The county’s intake machine counts, time-stamps and numbers each returned envelope. It also captures an image of the voter’s signature, which election workers compare with the signature in the voter registration system.
Pennock said workers also count each batch by hand, and at least two people remain with the ballots as they move through the process.
The county is adding another check this election through a new system called Clear Ballot.
After the primary tabulator reads the marks and adds up the votes, the audit system will scan every ballot again. Election officials can then compare the independent second count with the first.
Previously, the county used a hand count to audit a smaller sample of ballots.
“Auditing 100% of the ballots gives me more confidence that we have done the process right,” Pennock said.
Machines are only one part of the county’s election preparations. News 6 also observed ballot counters undergoing mandatory, hands-on training. Pennock said Seminole County trains about 700 election workers each year.
The elections office also invites members of the public who have questions or concerns about ballot counting to schedule a tour.
“We’ve had some of those individuals that have been skeptical of the process come in,” Pennock said. “When they see how it works, they’re like, ‘OK, I feel a heck of a lot better.’”
Monday, July 20, is the deadline to register to vote or change party affiliation for the primary. Election Day is Aug. 18.