The Lake County Supervisor of Elections Alan Hays said in Florida the term “absentee ballot” was replaced by the term “vote-by-mail” in 2016. He said thousands of residents in Lake County are already scheduled to receive a vote-by-mail ballot. However, Hays said, for those looking to vote-by-mail, there are some important dates to keep in mind. “We cannot mail them after eight days before the election; that eighth day before the election is the last time we’re allowed to mail the ballots,” said Hays. But not every county in Florida starts mailing their vote-by-mail ballots on the same day.