Mary Jane Arrington
Supervisor of Elections

Your Supervisor of Elections office staff wants to make voting in the Aug. 14 primary election as easy as possible for voters, which is why there are several ways to cast your vote.

Early voting, which is eight days straight of voting at six convenient locations throughout the county, will be held from Aug. 4-11 in Osceola County. The six early voting sites are: the Supervisor of Elections Office, Buenaventura Lakes Library, Celebration Library, Poinciana Library, St. Cloud Library, and the Kissimmee Library. Hours for Early Voting will be from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from Noon to 7 p.m. on Sunday.

I have had many people tell me they prefer early voting because it is easier to work into their schedule. On Election Day, even though the polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., sometimes life gets in the way and you can’t always make it to the polls before work, after work or on your lunch hour. Early Voting gives you eight days to make it to one of the locations to cast your ballot.

Voting by mail is another easy way to participate in the election. You can request your absentee ballot from our office up until 5 p.m. on Aug. 8. Requesting a ballot is easy, you can do so over the phone, by web request or by printing out the form from our web site: www.voteosceola.com. Just make sure you mail the absentee ballot back to our office, drop it off at our office or drop it off at any of the Early Voting sites during Aug. 4-11. Just make sure your absentee ballot is returned to our office by 7 p.m. on Election Day.

Voting by mail lets you vote your ballot, which is mailed to your residence on record, from the comfort and privacy of your own home. I am fond of telling people they don’t even have to get out of their pajamas to vote by mail. We will send your ballot to you; you vote it and return it back to our office by 7 p.m. on Election Day, which is Aug. 14.

We have changed some polling locations due to the redrawing of political district lines. It is the Elections Office’s goal to make sure every voter knows where his or her polling location is as well as their precinct number.

In the next few weeks you will be receiving several pieces of mail from us. Please do not just throw it away! You will be receiving a new Voter Information Card which will be mailed on July 23. This card has all your voting information on it. Where you vote, what precinct you are in, what political districts you are in as well as your party affiliation. Please review the card when you get it to make sure the information is current. If the information is not current, please call our office at 407-742-6000 and we will update the information.

You do not need to bring your Voter Information Card with you to the polls. You will need a photo and signature identification. There are several acceptable forms of identification you can use such as a Florida drivers license or state ID, military or student ID. All forms of acceptable identification can be found on our web site.

You will also be receiving a voter-specific sample ballot in the mail. There is a map on the mailer that will show you where your polling location is located as well as the name and address of your polling site. You can also look up your polling location on our web site by going to the Voters button on the right side of the screen then click on the line that says Find Your Polling Location. You just have to enter your street name. You do not have to enter your entire address.

A third mailer will be sent to every household with a registered voter. This neon green card will also contain a map and name and address of your polling location.

We want to make sure there is no voter confusion on Election Day as to where the registered voter will vote.

If you have any questions about the mailers or Absentee Ballots, please do not hesitate to contact my office. All this information is also available on our web site.

Please remember to exercise your privilege to vote in the Primary Election on August 14. I look forward to seeing you at the polls!

Mary Jane Arrington is the Osceola County Supervisor of Elections.