Mail-In Ballots Show GOP Lead In Volusia & Florida

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DeLand, FL - If the vote-by-mail ballots are any indication, the primary elections later this month are going to see more Volusia County voters than in the recent past.

As of August 9th, just over 25% of the over 81,000 ballots mailed so far by the Volusia Supervisor of Elections have been returned to the office.

Supervisor of Elections Lisa Lewis says primary elections are usually a lower turnout, with only 8% of the county's registered voters taking part in 2010. That was the last time Florida didn't have the incumbent running for governor.

"It’s wonderful to see the ballots being sent back and we hope to reach 50% in a primary election," Lewis added.

Current Governor Rick Scott cannot run again due to term limits, but he is still on this year's ballot as he tries to knock off United States Senator Bill Nelson from the seat he's held since 2001.

Over 33,000 registered Republicans have received mailed ballots so far this primary election, followed closely by nearly 29,000 registered Democrats and just under 18,000 who are registered as no party affiliation or with other political parties.

The GOP is also leading so far in ballots returned, according to Lewis, with over 10,000 compared to around 7,400 for Democrats and just over 4,000 for no party affiliation/other party voters.

At the state level, Republicans also enjoy a similar advantage, per the latest statistics from the Florida Division of Elections.

Over 500,000 of nearly 2.5 million vote-by-mail ballots have been returned as of August 9th, with registered GOP voters returning 238,051 ballots, registered Democrats at 198,631, 71,507 completed by people without party affiliation and another 1,966 by people registered with other parties.

Those who vote by mail must sign the certificate envelope before returning the ballot by 7 p.m. on election night (August 28th) or it won't count.

Any Volusia voter who wants to vote by mail has until 5 p.m. on August 22nd to request a ballot through the Supervisor of Elections. (Flagler voters can do the same by clicking here.)

Early voting begins Saturday (August 18th) at the following locations in Volusia, with polls open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m daily until August 26th:

- DAYTONA BEACH: City Island Library (105 East Magnolia Avenue)

- DELAND: Volusia County Administration Building (123 West Indiana Avenue)

- DELTONA: Deltona Regional Library (2150 Eustace Avenue)

- NEW SMYRNA BEACH: New Smyrna Beach Regional Library (1001 South Dixie Freeway)

- ORMOND BEACH: Ormond Beach Regional Library (30 South Beach Street)