Elections workers in Miami-Dade were busy loading on to a mail truck hundreds of thousands of vote-by-mail ballots on Thursday ahead of the primary election.

Approximately 215,000 vote-by-mail ballots are being sent to voters with a request on file for the August 20th Primary Election.

Overseas voters have already received their vote-by-mail ballots.

Miami-Dade County Supervisor of Elections Christina White noted a significant reduction in the number of requests for mail-in ballots this year compared to 2020.

“So for the 2020 Primary Election at this time we mailed about 332,000 in the initial mail out, today it is around 215,000,” White said.

White said new election laws are in part why there are about 115,000 fewer vote-by-mail requests on file compared to 2020.

All ballot requests in Florida expired December 31, 2022. Voters are now required to renew their request for the 2024 elections, which can be done on the elections department website, by phone or by mail.

“If you are expecting one and you’re noticing over the next few days that it is not arriving, that means that you have not renewed your request,” White said.

Voters are reminded that:

• Voters who have not requested a vote-by-mail ballot have until 5 p.m. on August 8th
• The ballot must received by the Elections Department by Election Day, August 20th by 7 p.m.
• They must sign inside the white box on the back of the return envelope
• They must ensure the signature on the mail ballot envelope matches the signature on file
• They can return their ballot by mail or place it in a secure ballot intake station located outside all 23 early voting locations
• No postage is necessary when mailing a vote-by-mail ballot back to the Elections Department.

For more information, visit the Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections website.