New Look for Vote-By-Mail Ballots, Pink Dye Shortage to Blame

ALACHUA COUNTY — Alachua County Supervisor of Elections Kim Barton is notifying voters about changes in the upcoming 2022 Primary Election. A visible change is that envelopes for vote-by-mail ballots in the 2022 Primary Election will not be pink as they have been in previous elections due to a shortage of colored dye. The top and left borders of the envelopes will now have pink markings.

Vote-by-mail ballots will be mailed to domestic voters with an existing request on file by July 14. Overseas ballots will be mailed to voters with an existing request on file by July 8.

The deadline to request a vote-by-mail ballot for the 2022 Primary Election is 5 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 13. Vote-by-mail ballots can be requested online, in person, or by phone, fax, mail or email. Until the deadline, vote-by-mail ballot requests will be filled as they are received. Any registered voter can sign up to vote by mail.

The Supervisor of Elections Office must receive domestic vote-by-mail ballots by 7 p.m. on Election Day, Tuesday, Aug. 23. Voters who vote by mail are encouraged to mail their completed ballot well in advance of Election Day to give the ballot ample time to arrive at the Supervisor of Elections Office before the deadline. Voters should also verify that their voter information and signature are up to date before they return their ballot if they have moved or their signature has changed.

Any voter who does not sign their vote-by-mail ballot or whose signature on the vote-by-mail ballot certificate does not match the signature in their voter record will be contacted by the Supervisor of Elections Office and provided the opportunity to correct their ballot. Per Florida Statutes, voters have until 5 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 25 to complete an affidavit to correct a vote-by-mail ballot that does not have a signature or has a signature that does not match the voter's signature on file.

Voters can deliver completed vote-by-mail ballots to the Supervisor of Elections Office, located in Gainesville at 515 N. Main Street during normal business hours — 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Voters can also use the Secure Ballot Intake Station located outside of the office’s main entrance. The Secure Ballot Intake Station will be available at the Supervisor of Elections Office Aug. 8 through Aug. 22 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Election Day, Aug. 23, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Additionally, Secure Ballot Intake Stations will be available at all seven early voting locations from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. during the early voting period of Aug. 13 – Aug. 20. Voters have until 7 p.m. on Election Day to return their vote-by-mail ballot to the Supervisor of Elections Office.

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