Can someone request a vote-by-mail ballot for you without you being aware?

Experts say it would be extremely difficult

During an election period it is not unusual for candidates or their volunteers to go door-to-door, but how much of your information should they have and how much should you share with them?

A Brevard County man said one of these visits left him and his wife him concerned about their votes.

We put his concern through the News 6 Trust Index.

Dwayne Free’s security camera shows a volunteer for a political campaign approaching his front door.

You can here Free answer the door. The conversation went downhill from there, according to Free.

“I consider what she did to me on Sunday as voter intimidation,” Free told News 6.

Free said when the woman didn’t agree with his choice for president, she tried to change his mind.

The exchange left him with serious questions.

“Where did she get my name and my wife’s name and know our address?” Free asked.

We reached out to several Supervisors of Elections in Central Florida for answers.

Voter registration information is public record which includes your party affiliation according to, Kaiti Lenhart, the Supervisor of Elections in Flagler County.

Anyone can get that information.

Free says after the exchange he now has concerns about when he goes to the polls in November .

“Would I get there and find that somebody had already sent in a mail-in ballot, an absentee ballot in my name?” Free asked.

Chris Anderson is the Supervisor of Elections in Seminole County.

“The national average for vote by mail fraud is .0025 percent,” Anderson said.

We asked Free’s question: Is there any way someone can request an absentee ballot in your name without you being aware of it?

“No, because what’s going to happen is you’re going to be contacted by the Supervisors of Elections Office letting you know that you are now a vote-by-mail voter,” Anderson said.

In Florida, absentee or mail-in ballots are only sent upon request and when requested they’re sent to the address on file for you in the elections office.

Theoretically, someone could request one by phone--but they would have to have additional information about you that is not public record, according to Anderson. But again, the ballot would still come to you.

“If they actually do this, I’m not going to be able to vote, right? I won’t be able to vote because someone will already have sent in a mail-in ballot.” Free said.

Anderson said that would never happen.

“We don’t turn voters away. They will vote provisionally,” Anderson said.

If there is ever a question about a ballot, Anderson says voters can vote a provisional ballot while the Supervisor of Elections investigates.

They always defer to the signature they have on file for you. If the signatures don’t match you will be notified, Anderson said.

“Again there are these notifications within the process that alert voters to changes in their voting history,” Anderson said.

Based on information from several Supervisors of Elections, it would be extremely difficult for someone to turn in an absentee ballot in your name without you being aware. That’s true on the Trust Index.

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About the Authors

Emmy Award-winning reporter Louis Bolden joined the News 6 team in September of 2001 and hasn't gotten a moment's rest since. Louis has been a General Assignment Reporter for News 6 and Weekend Morning Anchor. He joined the Special Projects/Investigative Unit in 2014.

Emmy-nominated journalist Kristin Cason joined the News 6 team in June 2016.

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