A Closer Look: Orange County Supervisor of Elections

The Supervisor of Elections is elected to act as the official custodian of voter registration records and to conduct federal, state, county and municipal elections within Orange County. Its mission is to ensure the integrity of the electoral process, enhance public confidence and encourage citizen participation.

“We serve all 1.3 million Orange County residents,” said Bill Cowles, Orange County Supervisor of Elections. “Of those, more than 824,000 are currently registered voters.”

Residents can access many of the Orange County Supervisor of Elections’ services online for their convenience, and to find out more information on how to cast their vote.

• Register to vote or update your registration online: Voters’ registration should be up-to-date no later than 29 days before an election. Residents can do this anytime at RegisterToVoteFlorida.gov, and check OrangeCountyVotes.com for more information. Florida is a closed primary state. To vote in a party’s partisan races – either Presidential Preference Primary or Primary Election – party affiliation is required to be updated no later than 29 days before the election.

• Three ways to vote: Choose the voting method that works best for you: voting by mail, early voting, or voting at your polling place on Election Day.

• Vote-by-Mail: Residents can request their vote-by-mail ballot for two election cycles, check the status of a request, and track vote-by-mail ballots online at OrangeCountyVotes.com. Residents do not have to pay for return postage, and should mail their ballots back no later than five days before the election. They can also drop off ballots at the Orange County Supervisor of Elections office or any early voting sites across the County.

• Early Voting: Residents can choose where and when to vote at their convenience. Starting 15 days before Election Day, residents can vote at any one of 18 early voting sites in 2020. Anyone interested in being an election worker for the 2020 early voting periods, should contact the Supervisor of Elections’ office at 407-836-2070 ext. 71185.

• Voting on Election Day: On Election Day, residents have to vote at their assigned polling place, which can be found at OrangeCountyVotes.com. Orange County has 247 precincts, 110 of which are adopted by organizations to raise money for their community efforts.

Orange County is projected to have its highest number of registered voters in 2020. The office is expecting more than 850,000 voters will be eligible to cast their ballots. There will be three elections next year: the Presidential Preference Primary and Municipal Elections in March, the Primary Election in August and the General Election in November. The Orange County Supervisor of Elections is looking forward to helping residents cast their votes!

Orange County Government’s “A Closer Look” newsroom series provides residents with short, need-to-know information about the different constitutional offices that serve the County. This news story was written in partnership with Orange County Government and the Orange County Supervisor of Elections office. For more information about Orange County Supervisor of Elections, visit www.ocfelections.com and connect with them on Facebook and Twitter @OCFElections.

Photo Caption: Orange County Supervisor of Elections staff sort ballots during the 2018 recounts.