The early voting period for Central Florida is officially over, and multiple counties are having record breaking numbers.

If it seems like there are longer lines at early voter polling stations, it’s not your imagination. Central Floridians are setting record numbers for voting early, and that should continue heading into the final weekend before the election.

Early voting starts Monday, Oct. 21 in most Central Florida counties, with Sumter County kicking off on Tuesday.

In a recent discussion, Central Florida election supervisors addressed a range of concerns about the upcoming election, including polling place accessibility and the potential impact of hand-counting ballots.

As election season approaches, Central Florida's election supervisors are confronting not only logistical challenges but also ongoing skepticism from election deniers.

As Floridians finalized preparations to ride out Hurricane Milton Tuesday, elections officials across Central Florida finalized preparations to keep ballots and ballot equipment safe during the storm.

Lake County Supervisor of Elections Alan Hays fended off a challenge from a Republican on Tuesday night to win the GOP primary. He’ll face two write-in candidates in November.

A text message asking voters to update or change their Florida voter registrations may be a scam, warns the Lake County supervisor of elections.

Election Results Newsletter 2024 Issue 1

In Florida, anyone can request a vote-by-mail ballot for an election, without needing a reason.

Election workers across central Florida are busy ahead of the midterm.

With vote-by-mail well underway, some counties have received hundreds of ballots with errors.

Five county supervisors of elections — Lake, Orange, Osceola, Seminole and Volusia counties — came together to implore people to get out and vote now at early voting locations, rather than wait until Election Day.

Alan Hays, Lake County’s supervisor of elections, said voting misinformation is inviting disaster ahead of Election Day.

Two supervisors of elections say they are battling a large number of record requests ahead of the 2022 midterm elections.

Thursday was the first day of early voting in Lake County and people were in and out of the the Supervisor of Elections office casting ballots.

Lake County elections officials discuss potential confusion for some voters.

Florida Republicans have advanced a voting law package that would establish a police unit for election crimes, embracing a proposal pushed by Gov. Ron DeSantis.

They are also moving to restrict other people from dropping off a voter’s ballot, a practice known as “ballot harvesting.”“It’s not that there was a debacle so we have to fix it. He said Florida law requires ballot boxes to be monitored. He called the bill “poor policy.”Ad“Why do you say that we can no longer use monitored drop boxes and yet you’re going to allow people to use U.S. Leon County Supervisor of Elections Mark Earley, the vice chair of the statewide group representing county elections officials, disputed assertions that drop boxes are not adequately secure. In November, Florida Democrats outvoted Republicans by mail by 680,000 more mail ballots.

LIVE LOOK | Long line forms at Volusia County voting location LIVE LOOK | Long line forms for voting at McInnis Elementary in Volusia County. In Marion County, voters are also set to surpass 2016 total turnout with 72% by 3 p.m. In fact, President Trump made several campaign stops here within the last couple of weeks. pic.twitter.com/qb22CE2U4e — Mark Knoller (@markknoller) November 3, 202010:08 a.m.More people have voted in Orange County, Florida, this year than in 2016. Florida residents will also get to vote on six state constitutional amendments, including an increase on minimum wage.

TAVARES, Fla. – Voters in Lake County ran into problems Tuesday morning shortly after polls opened in Florida on Election Day. “We identified a computer problem in some precincts that incorrectly identified some voters were not registered in that precinct,” said Alan Hays, Lake County supervisor of elections. “The problem was isolated immediately, and corrective action was initiated. The solution is being deployed and everything will be fine very shortly.”Hays said he appreciated the voters' patience as his agency worked to correct the issue, which was resolved before 8:30 a.m.For more election updates in Florida, click here.

LAKE COUNTY, Fla. – Lake County Supervisor of Elections Alan Hays said voters have until 5 p.m. on the Thursday to take action to fix their vote-by-mail ballot if there was a signature issue or error. Hays said nearly 800 voters have cured their ballots so far, but he said they are still waiting on hundreds. Additionally, he said his staff has been contacting voters who filled in their contact information on their ballot if there’s an issue. He said they reach out via email, phone call or even a mailed letter to those voters whose ballots had an issue. Other supervisors of elections said they, too, are reaching out to voters regarding signature issues on ballots.

LAKE COUNTY, Fla. – Early voting wraps up Saturday in several Central Florida counties Saturday, including in Lake County. [TRENDING: COVID-19 closes early voting location | Can you get COVID-19 twice? “we’ve had almost 85,000 in-person voting early voting and then we’ve had over 63,000 mail ballots that we’ve received already,” Hays said. Early voting is also ending on Saturday in Brevard, Marion, Flagler, and Sumter counties. Voters in the remaining Central Florida counties have until Sunday to cast their ballots early.

LAKE COUNTY, Fla. – The Department of State issued guidance to the Supervisor of Elections of each county in Florida to protect the November election. The Department of State issued guidance to the Supervisor of Elections of each county in Florida to protect the November election. (Florida Department of State)The Department of State issued guidance to the Supervisor of Elections of each county in Florida to protect the November election. Lake County Supervisor Alan Hays said upon receiving the letter, his office complied right away. “We’ve had a drop box here at our location in Tavares that has been accessible and is under camera surveillance 24 hours a day.”The recommendation instructed Supervisors to have someone monitor the drop box on-site in case someone tries to destroy or spoil the ballots.

LAKE COUNTY, Fla. – Lake County Supervisor of Elections Alan Hays said they have started to count the 2020 Election vote-by-mail ballots coming in. Florida is one of more than 20 states that can count absentee or vote-by-mail ballots ahead of Election Day, up to 40 days before Nov. 3. Hays gave News 6 a look inside at the process of tabulating the ballots. Hays said they’ve mailed out 82,610 vote-by-mail ballots, and said, so far, they’ve had 32,000 returned to the county election office. He added that being able to tabulate as many ballots as possible now, puts them in a good position on Election night.

LAKE COUNTY, Fla. – On Wednesday, several voters in Lake County drove right past the ballot box watched by three security cameras outside the supervisor of elections office to park and make sure they hand delivered their mail-in ballot in person. “To see me dropping it in by myself and make sure it gets to where it’s supposed to go to,” an Orange County voter said. Postal Service’s number one priority between now and the November election is the secure, timely delivery of the nation’s Election Mail. The Postal Service is committed to delivering Election Mail, including ballots, in a timely manner.”The Postmaster General issued an order to take effect on Oct. 1, which includes proper handling of all election mail. Any vote-by-mail voter can verify their status on it.

According to the latest numbers Monday afternoon, 76,073 voters of the now more than 261,475 registered to vote have requested a mail-in ballot. [TRENDING: DeSantis to lift restaurant limits in Fla. | Here’s how to track your mail-in ballot | How can I tell difference between flu and COVID-19?] Moreover, Hays said in 2016 only 41,244 voters requested mail-in ballots which means this year is an 84% increase compared to the last Presidential Election. He did say the increase of mail-in ballots could delay election results. “One county in 2016 received 10,000 ballots on Election day from the post office, there is no way they would have gotten to them on election night but every one was counted,” Hays said.

Hays said not anyone can just be a poll watcher, he said there’s a process, along with approval required. “The only people that are allowed to be poll watchers are people who have been approved by the local supervisor of elections, from a list that is submitted by either a candidate, or political party, or political committee,” Hays said. Additionally, Hays said there are strict rules pertaining to poll watchers. This allows poll watchers to observe what’s going on at a polling place and have a better understanding of the actions they’re witnessing, according to Hays. Seminole County’s Supervisor of Elections, Chris Anderson, said poll watchers will also be clearly identified.

The Lake County Supervisor of Elections Alan Hays said in Florida the term “absentee ballot” was replaced by the term “vote-by-mail” in 2016. He said thousands of residents in Lake County are already scheduled to receive a vote-by-mail ballot. However, Hays said, for those looking to vote-by-mail, there are some important dates to keep in mind. “We cannot mail them after eight days before the election; that eighth day before the election is the last time we’re allowed to mail the ballots,” said Hays. But not every county in Florida starts mailing their vote-by-mail ballots on the same day.

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. With talks of the United States Postal Service receiving funding in reference to mail-in voting delivery, two Central Florida election officials told News 6 they havent noticed any delayed in delivery. Orange County Supervisor of Elections Bill Cowles said his office received a record amount of mail-in ballots than any other primary election in the countys history. [RELATED: 2020 VOTER GUIDE: Everything you need to know ahead of Floridas primary election]"We are very satisfied with the service we are getting from the postal service. Thats what I deal with and the postal employees are bringing me the mail every day, said Hays. Cowles said that 2019 legislation requires Florida counties to offer to drop off boxes at early voting locations as well as the election office.

Many officials said they are receiving money from the CARES Act grant to help offset additional costs incurred that were not originally budgeted. Seminole County:Seminole County Supervisor of Elections Chris Anderson said his office is receiving $531,000 in CARES Act funds. He said the money will help cover the additional expenses as more voters request a vote by mail ballot. Orange County:Orange County Supervisor of Elections Bill Cowles said the county is getting $1.3 million in CARES funding. Marion County:Officials with the Marion County Supervisor of Elections office said they are eligible for up to $359,810.

Many said they are still recruiting election workers to make sure they have enough in case some back out because of the pandemic. But he said the COVID-19 pandemic made it tough to hire enough election workers. Orange County election officials said they are always recruiting election workers. Osceola County election officials said they have "plenty" of election workers for the August election. Marion County election officials said they are always recruiting election workers because of constant turnover.