101.048 F.S.
If your eligibility to vote cannot be determined, or you do not have the proper identification, you will be allowed to vote a provisional ballot. In order for the ballot to count, you must be eligible to vote at the precinct in which you cast your ballot. You will vote a regular ballot but that ballot will be placed in provisional ballot envelopes and the Provisional Ballot Voter’s Certificate and Affirmation is completed on the envelope. These ballots will not be tabulated at the polls but are secured in either the emergency bin of the ballot box at the poll or in the supervisor’s vault during early voting. You will be given written instructions indicating that a person casting a provisional ballot has the right to present written evidence supporting his or her eligibility to vote to the Supervisor of Elections by no later than 5:00 p.m. on the second day following the election. These instruction also provide information on our free access system to determine whether your provisional ballot was counted in the final canvass of votes and if not, the reasons why. Keep the instructions. You will need the number on the bottom of the stub to access your information on your provisional ballot. Click here to go to the free access system. If you voted a provisional ballot solely because you did not bring photo and signature identification to the polls, you do not have to preset further evidence of eligibility. The signature on the certificate will be compared to the signature on your voter’s registration. If they match, the ballot will be counted.
Provisional ballots will be returned to the county canvassing board and the board shall examine each Provisional Ballot Voter’s Certificate and Affirmation. A determination shall be made whether the person voting the ballot was entitled to vote at the precinct where the ballot was cast and that the person had not already voted in the election. Also, to determine eligibility, the board shall review the information from the certificate, written evidence provided by the individual, and any additional information found. A provisional ballot shall be counted unless the canvassing board determines by a preponderance of the evidence that the person was not entitled to vote. Ballots that are not counted shall remain sealed in their provisional ballot envelopes.
Reasons for Provisional Ballots:
- The voter’s name does not appear on the precinct register, and the voter’s eligibility cannot be determined.
- Voter refutes the supervisor’s office confirmation that he or she is not registered/eligible.
- There is an indication on the precinct register that the voter has requested a Vote by Mail ballot and the voter does not have a ballot to surrender. A pollworker cannot verify that the voter has not voted.
- There is an indication on the precinct register that the voter has returned the Vote by Mail ballot or has voted in the office or at an early voting site, but the voter maintains that he or she has not voted, even after a call to the office.
- The voter did not provide picture/signature identification.
- There is an indication on the precinct register that the voter has been challenged in this election.
- The voter is challenged at the precinct.
- The voter’s ID signature and the signature given do not
match. The voter refused the affidavit. - Indication on precinct register that voter’s status is pending because FL DL#, FL ID card #, or SSN is not yet verified by the state.
- FL voter changing address from another FL county
into Liberty County - Voting during government or court-ordered extended
hours.