Selected Press Releases from Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner on the Nov. 8, 2016 Election

Florida « Selected Press Releases from Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner

November 8, 2016
Contact: Meredith Beatrice

Florida Secretary of State Provides Election Day Recap

Tallahassee –

Following polls closing in Florida, Secretary of State Ken Detzner issued the following statement and provided an Election Day recap for Florida voters.

“Overall, we’ve had a very smooth and successful General Election Day here in Florida. We only received a few reports of minor issues from the counties,” said Secretary of State Ken Detzner. “All the Supervisors of Elections were proactive in addressing any concerns and ensuring all voters were able to vote.

“All Floridians can now view Florida’s preliminary election results on the Florida Election Watch website: enight.elections.myflorida.com. A sizeable number of votes have already been reported because initial numbers include the early voting and vote-by-mail ballots that have already been tabulated. We’ll be receiving updated precinct totals from supervisors and canvassing boards throughout the evening. The preliminary election results on Election Night are not the official election results. Official election results are due to the Division no later than noon on Sunday, November 20. These official results will then be presented to a meeting of the Elections Canvassing Commission on Tuesday, November 22.”

UPDATES

VOTER ASSISTANCE HOTLINE: From 7 a.m. through polls closing at 7 p.m. local time, Division of Elections staff answered more than 2,300 calls from Florida voters requesting assistance. The majority of calls were related to voter registration status, address changes, and precinct locations.

ORANGE COUNTY: The Supervisor of Elections office informed the Department that at approximately 5:30 p.m., a polling location in Winter Park (760 N. Lakemont Ave) was temporarily evacuated, which included 20 voters, due to a reported suspicious package. The suspicious package was determined not to be a threat and the entire event lasted less than 20 minutes. All voters returned to the polling location and were able to vote.

PALM BEACH COUNTY: The Supervisor of Elections office informed the Department at approximately 6:30 p.m. that it had dispatched experienced poll workers to help process address changes for voters in line on the Florida Atlantic University campus. All voters at the location have been able to cast a ballot and vote.

BROWARD COUNTY: The Supervisor of Elections office took disciplinary action regarding two poll workers in the county. Please contact the county for more information.

Florida Timeline for Reporting and Certification of 2016 General Election Results

Preliminary returns reported to the state on Election Night are not the official election results. Official returns are due to the Department of State from county canvassing boards no later than noon on November 20. These official results will be certified at a meeting of the Florida Elections Canvassing Commission at 9 a.m. on November 22 at the Florida Capitol in Tallahassee. The Elections Canvassing Commission consists of the Governor and two members of the Florida Cabinet selected by the Governor (Section 102.111, Florida Statutes).

Florida’s timeline for the reporting and certification of election results, which includes the process for possible recounts for any races on the ballot, is as follows:

November 8 GENERAL ELECTION DAY

Preliminary Election Night Returns are due no later than 7:30 pm in the respective county’s time zone on General Election night (Tuesday, November 8) and in 45-minute increments thereafter until all results (except provisional ballots and overseas vote-by-mail ballots) are completely reported. (Section 102.141, Florida Statutes)

Note: Pursuant to Section 101.048, Florida Statutes, November 10 is the deadline for persons voting a provisional ballot to provide evidence of eligibility to Supervisors of Elections.

November 12 Unofficial Returns are due from the county canvassing boards no later than noon on Saturday, November 12. The Secretary of State and Division of Elections will subsequently determine if the returns for any federal, state, or multicounty races or issues on the ballot meet the statutory threshold requiring a machine recount. (Section 102.141, Florida Statutes)

The Secretary of State will order any Machine Recount, if required, for federal, state or multicounty races as determined by statutory thresholds (see below). The results from the machine recount constitute the 2nd set of unofficial returns. (Section 102.141(7), Florida Statutes)

Note: For all other races, the county canvassing board or the local board responsible for certifying the election are responsible for ordering recounts.

November 17 If a Machine Recount is ordered, Second Unofficial Returns are due from the county canvassing boards no later than 3 p.m. on November 17. The Secretary of State and Division of Elections will subsequently determine if the returns for any federal, state, or multicounty races or issues on the ballot meet the statutory threshold requiring a manual recount.

The Secretary of State will order any Manual Recount, if required, for federal, state or multicounty races as determined by statutory thresholds (see below). (Section 102.166, Florida Statutes)

Note: For all other races, the county canvassing board or the local board responsible for certifying the election are responsible for ordering recounts.

November 18 Ballots from overseas uniformed service members and overseas civilians (UOCAVA voters) must be received by November 18. Ballots must be postmarked or signed and dated no later than the date of the General Election. (Section 101.6952(5), Florida Statutes)

November 20 Official Returns are due from the county canvassing boards no later than noon on November 20. (Section 102.112, Florida Statutes)

November 22 The Elections Canvassing Commission meets to certify the Official Returns for federal, state, and multicounty offices at 9 a.m. on November 22 at the Florida Capitol in Tallahassee. The Elections Canvassing Commission consists of the Governor and two members of the Florida Cabinet selected by the Governor (Section 102.111, Florida Statutes).

November 8, 2016
Contact: Meredith Beatrice

Florida Secretary of State Announces Polls Open Statewide & Shares County Updates

Tallahassee –

This morning, Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner issued the following statement and shared information with Florida voters for the General Election.

“As the Chief Election Officer for the State of Florida, I’m pleased to announce that all polls opened on time statewide and voters are currently casting ballots in 5,836 precincts across the state,” said Secretary of State Ken Detzner. “Polls opened at 7 a.m. and will be open until 7 p.m., local time. Voters in line at 7 p.m. will be permitted to vote.

“As we do with every election we have staff communicating with each county’s Supervisor of Elections throughout the day and ready to provide assistance should it be requested. The early voting process in Florida went smoothly. As of this morning, reports from the counties show that 3,874,929 voters voted early at the polls and that 2,636,783 vote-by-mail ballots have been cast. This represents a turnout of more than 50 percent before Election Day voting had even begun.”

UPDATES

UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE: The Division of Elections is in communication with the United States Postal Service to ensure all returned vote-by-mail ballots that can be delivered are received by Supervisors of Elections offices by poll closing at 7 p.m. local time.

SECURITY: The Department is monitoring security statewide. At this time there are no reported issues.

TURNOUT: Counties are reporting continued strong voter turnout. For Election Day turnout numbers, please contact the respective county Supervisor of Elections offices. For early voting and vote-by-mail statistics, please visit the Division of Elections Vote-by-Mail Request and Early Voting Reports website.

DUVAL COUNTY: An issue at a polling site in Springfield (Westside Church of Christ on 8th St.) has been resolved by the Supervisor of Elections office. A voting machine that was plugged into a dead outlet resulted in a minor delay of ballots being tabulated, and some ballots were placed in an emergency bin. All voters were able to vote and cast their ballots. The voting machine is now fully operational and Division of Elections staff continue to monitor the situation.

ELECTION DAY INFORMATION FOR VOTERS

ELECTION DAY VOTING: Today polls are open statewide from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. local time. Any voters waiting in line at 7:00 p.m. will have the opportunity to cast a ballot. If you need to know the location of your polling place, contact your county Supervisor of Elections. You can also find your precinct and polling place on your county Supervisor of Elections' website or by using the Check Your Voter Status webpage.

ID REQUIREMENTS AT THE POLLS: In accordance with Florida Statutes, voters will be asked to provide a valid photo ID with signature at the polls. If the photo ID does not contain a signature, voters will be asked to provide another ID that has a signature. A voter who does not have an acceptable ID can still vote using a provisional ballot. In 2016, the Florida Legislature added 3 new categories of acceptable forms of IDs (chapter 2016-167, Laws of Florida) bringing the total number of acceptable forms of photo IDs to 12. The 12 forms of ID accepted are:

Florida driver’s license
Florida identification card issued by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles
United States passport
Debit or credit card
Military identification
Student identification
Retirement center identification
Neighborhood association identification
Public assistance identification
Veteran health identification card issued by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs
License to carry a concealed weapon or firearm issued pursuant to s. 790.06
Employee identification card issued by any branch, department, agency, or entity of the Federal Government, the state, a county, or a municipality.

RESOURCES FOR VOTERS: The Department of State’s Division of Elections offers several resources to voters online at YourVoteFlorida.com, including links to find your polling place. The website is also available in a Spanish version: YourVoteFlorida.com en Español. Voters can also contact you’re their local Supervisor of Elections office and/or call the State’s Voter Assistance Hotline at 1.866.308.6739, which is available in both English and Spanish. Voters who are hearing or speech impaired may contact the Division of Elections using the Florida Relay Service at 1.800.955.8771 (TDD) or 1.800.955.8770 (Voice).

ELECTION RESULTS & STATISTICS

PRELIMINARY ELECTION NIGHT RESULTS: Beginning at 8 p.m. Eastern tonight, preliminary election results for the General Election will be available on the Florida Election Watch website, enight.elections.myflorida.com. Please be aware that while Florida polls close at 7 p.m., Florida has two time zones. Voting will not be completed statewide until 7 p.m. Central/8 p.m. Eastern. Election results will be published on the Florida Election Watch website after 8 p.m. Eastern. Official returns for the General Election are due to the Department of State from county canvassing boards no later than noon on November 20.

EARLY VOTING AND VOTE-BY-MAIL BALLOT STATISTICS: The Division of Elections is providing daily early voting and vote-by-mail ballot statistics based on county reports last filed by the Supervisor of Elections for that county. To access these statistics, please visit the Division of Elections’ Vote-by-Mail Request & Early Voting Statistics webpage.

VOTER REGISTRATION STATISTICS: On October 18, 2016, voter registration books closed for the General Election. The Division of Elections prepares detailed statistical reports on the number of active registered voters as of the day of bookclosing. The reports are available in Excel and PDF format, and include a breakdown of voter registration by county and additional parameters. To access these bookclosing reports, please visit the Division of Elections’ website.

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Clear Ballot
December 14, 2016

Clear Ballot's Audit of Florida's Presidential Election Results a Success

Clear Ballot's ClearAudit Technology Used to Audit Nearly 14% of Florida's Election Results

BOSTON, Dec. 14, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Clear Ballot reported successful election audits for nearly 14% of Florida's Presidential Election results in the counties using ClearAudit technology. The counties that used the state of the art audit system include Bay, Broward, Columbia, Leon, Nassau, Putnam, and St. Lucie.

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Clear Ballot is privileged to work with election officials throughout the country to ensure the integrity of elections and is pleased to see the successful verification of election results.

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Contact
Hillary Lincoln
Marketing and Communications Manager, Clear Ballot