Vote-by-Mail Ballot

1. By Mail – A Vote-by-Mail ballot may be returned via the United States Postal Service and must be received by 7 p.m. on Election Day.

2. Dropped off at any Early Voting location during the hours of operation via Secure Ballot Intake Station (Vote-by-Mail Drop Box).

3. In person on Election Day before 7 p.m.

• Miami-Dade Elections Department
  2700 NW 87th Avenue, Miami, FL 33172

4. By Voter's Designee – May return no more than two ballots other than his or her own per election, except that additional ballots may be returned for the designee’s spouse or the parent, child, grandparent, grandchild, or sibling of the designee or designee’s spouse.  Additionally, a legal guardian who is not a family member may return a ballot on your behalf on the day of the election only.

• Whether you have a request on file
• Date the ballot was mailed to you
• Date the ballot was received by the Elections Department
• If the ballot was counted. If there was a signature deficiency, a link to the Cure
• Affidavit

Florida law requires you to sign the voter certificate on the outside of your vote-by-mail ballot envelope. It is important that the signature on the voter certificate matches your signature we have on file. Because it's common for signatures to change over the years, please make sure your latest signature is in our records. To update your signature, you may use the Voter Registration Application (Español) (Kreyòl) to submit your update. Updates submitted on a Voter Registration Application must contain the voter's original signature.

Signature updates must be completed before your vote-by-mail ballot is received.

Please remember to sign inside the red box on the back of the vote-by-mail envelope. See our vote-by-mail flyer for an example of where you need to sign. Failure to include a signature may result in having your ballot not counted.

If you forgot to sign the envelope or the signature does not match, Florida law allows you the opportunity to submit an affidavit to cure your vote-by-mail ballot. The affidavit must be completed and submitted to the Elections Department along with a copy of your identification, by 5 p.m. on the second day after an election.

• Vote-by-Mail Ballot - Signature Cure Affidavit (English)
• Vote-by-Mail Ballot - Signature Cure Affidavit (Español & Kreyòl)

Per Chapter 12, Section 14 of the Miami-Dade County Code, you can have a person request and return a vote-by-mail ballot for you. That person is your designee.

When requesting a vote-by-mail ballot by designee no more than two ballots other than his or her own may be requested per election, except that additional ballots may be returned for the designee’s spouse or the parent, child, grandparent, grandchild, or sibling of the designee or designee’s spouse.

If the person designated by the voter is an immediate family member, the vote-by-mail ballot can be requested and returned on the day before and on the day of the election. If the designee is a legal guardian but not an immediate family member, the ballot can only be requested and returned on the day of the election.

To request and return a vote-by-mail ballot, the following options are available:

1. The designee and voter complete the form (Español) (Kreyòl). Picture identification of the designee must be presented along with the completed form when requesting or returning the vote-by-mail ballot.
2. The designee completes the form and the voter provides a written request containing specific information found on the Vote-by-Mail Ballot Request Policy (Español) (Kreyòl) and the Vote-by-Mail Return Policy (Español) (Kreyòl). The picture ID, the form, and the voter's written request must be presented when requesting or returning the vote-by-mail ballot.

Rules for registered Miami-Dade voters

If you are currently registered to vote in Miami-Dade County, all vote-by-mail ballot requests must include the following:

• Full name of voter
• Date of birth
• Florida driver license number, Florida identification number or last four digits of your social security number
• Residence address
• Mailing address
• Voter registration number (optional)
• Date of the election or elections for which a vote-by-mail is needed
• Signature of voter (written requests only)

If you would like to make a change to your name, party affiliation, address, or signature on file, please send us your completed Federal Post Card Application.

The deadline to request a vote-by-mail ballot is 5 p.m. on the twelfth day before the election.

Rules for overseas residents who are not registered Miami-Dade voters

• If you or a family member has a home in Miami-Dade County, your registration application or Federal Post Card Application must be received no later than 29 days prior to book closing for that particular election. You will then become an actual Miami-Dade County voter. (A vote-by-mail ballot request can be attached to your registration form or sent to our office separately to be received no later than ten days prior to the election.)
• If your last address was in Miami-Dade County and you do not currently have a home in Miami-Dade County, you are eligible to receive an Overseas Citizen's Ballot for Federal Elections if the request was made no later than 30 days before the election. If you met the deadline and the ballot does not get to you in time, you can use a Federal Write-In Ballot from your military installation, US Embassy or Consulate. If your request gets here less than 30 days before the election, or you never made a request to our office, you cannot use a Federal Write-In Ballot.

Rules for non-registered Miami-Dade voters living elsewhere in the U.S.

You cannot use your "address of record" in order to become a registered voter if you or a family member does not currently live in Miami-Dade County. According to the law, you must register to vote in the United States jurisdiction in which you now reside, not Miami-Dade County.

If you or a family member currently lives in Miami-Dade County, your registration application or Federal Post Card Application must be received no later than 29 days prior to book closing for that particular election. (A vote by mail ballot request can be attached to your registration form or sent to our office separately to be received no later than ten days prior to the election.)

Additional resources

All Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) voters can easily get answers and important information such as vote-by-mail voting regulations, laws, deadlines and procedures.

The UOCAVA allows the following U.S. citizens to vote by mail:

• Members of the U.S. uniformed services (on active duty) and merchant marines
• Their family members
• U.S. citizens residing outside the United States

Visit the Federal Voting Assistance Program website for election information, access to the online Federal Post Card Application, and links to state government home pages and other sites with election information and results.

Military voters may visit the Florida Department of State's website to find useful information regarding Florida laws, programs and benefits for active duty, National Guard and reserve service members and families.

Mail ballot elections

• Mail Ballot Replacement Policy
• Mail Ballot Replacement Oath

Request vote-by-mail ballot information

Under Florida Statutes, vote-by-mail ballot information is confidential and exempt, with a limited exception to certain groups and committees.

• Application to Obtain Vote-by-Mail Ballot Information
• Application to Request Access to Ballot Materials (Español) (Kreyòl)