Government & Politics

Broward Supervisor of Elections urges in-person voting following reports of mail-in ballot delays

WLRN Public Media | By WLRN News Staff

Published October 28, 2026 at 5:21 PM EDT

The City of Coral Gables is holding a special election this month – one without in-person polls or early voting. The Miami-Dade County Supervisor of Elections mailed out more than 37,000 ballots to city voters for its special election on Tuesday, April 21. Voters will decide on eight ballot referendums. This is a mail ballot-only election, meaning there’s no in-person voting. The Supervisor of Elections said these kinds of elections are done on occasion to save taxpayer dollars, but only if there are no candidates on a ballot.

With U.S. Postal Service delays affecting mail-in ballots, Broward County Supervisor of Elections Joe Scott is urging voters to consider delivering their ballots in person or taking advantage of early voting locations to ensure their votes count in this year’s midterm elections.

"We've seen where people, even locally in Broward County, have mailed a ballot and it's taken up to two weeks for that ballot to get here, which is totally unacceptable," Scott told WSVN 7News.

Scott said delays are affecting both outgoing ballots sent to voters and incoming completed ballots returned to his office. He said his own son in Orlando waited 12 days to receive a ballot, while an assistant state attorney reported waiting weeks.

Broward Supervisor of Elections Joe Scott

In response to the reported delays, the U.S. Postal Service confirmed it is looking into the delivery concerns.

In Miami-Dade County, election officials reported they have not encountered postal service delays, reporting that roughly 120,000 of the 250,000 ballots sent out there had already been successfully returned.

Similar vote-by-mail issues have been reported in Monroe County, according to Supervisor of Elections Sherri Hodies.

“Missouri, Minnesota, several out east, Connecticut, New Hampshire also Rhode Island, Virginia. So it is not just one section of the United States,” Hodies told NBC6 South Florida. “It is many of the states, and we don’t know if it is happening on their side or if it is happening on our side.”

For Broward voters worried that their mail-in ballot will not arrive in time, Scott recommended taking advantage of early voting sites or voting directly at their precinct on Election Day next Tuesday. He also said those who already voted by mail should check their ballot status online at his office's website.

Scott reassured voters that "safeguards" are firmly in place to ensure that anyone who requests a mail ballot but chooses to vote in person will only have their vote "registered once in the final tally."
Florida law is strict about the deadline for mail-in ballots. They must be at the supervisor of elections office by 7 p.m. on Election Day. Ballots that aren’t received by that deadline aren’t counted.