Vote by mail’s popularity plumets in Duval, could mean long lines in November

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Vote by mail continues to fall out of popularity among Northeast Florida voters, and that could mean long lines at the polls in November.

In 2020, more than 184,000 ballots were requested and nearly 140,000 of those were returned in Duval.

In 2022, more than 105,000 requests were made and more than 61,000 ballots were returned.

But so far this year, just over 55,500 ballots have been requested in Duval for the November election.

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Based on average returns since 2014, less than 40,000 of those are likely to be returned, representing a 36 percent year-over-year decline.

The story is similar in St. Johns County where 33,600 mail ballots were requested in 2016, but only 16,405 requests have come in so far for 2024 --- a 51% drop.

“There’s no doubt in 2020, there was a message from the Republican Party: Don’t vote by mail,” Duval County Supervisor of Elections Jerry Holland said.

Duval Supervisor of Elections Jerry Holland said even though party messaging has shifted since 2020, the voting method continues to fall out of favor.

“Any time you take away someone’s confidence in a voting process, they don’t want to do it,” Holland said.

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Holland said he’s not expecting fewer votes to be cast this year, so the decline in vote by mail could create some difficulties.

“When you shift those voting patterns, what it can cause is long lines,” Holland said.

And the issue is compounded in Duval County, due to a reduction of 26 Election Day precincts since 2020. But Holland said his office is taking steps to avoid long lines in November.

“We went from 19 early voting sites to 24. A pretty good increase. And so, we’re anticipating trying to shift some of those people who voted by mail to early voting,” Holland said.

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And Holland said early voting is your best bet to avoid delays this election season, but he also emphasized reforms passed after the 2020 election have made voting by mail more secure than ever.

“So, now that the message has changed hopefully the voters will feel more confident,” Holland said.

Duval residents who want to request a mail ballot for both the August Primary and November General Election can sign up HERE.

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