With a presidential election coming up in November, and a global pandemic with no end in sight, many in Central Texas are planning to skip the polls and vote by mail.
McLennan County Elections Administrator Kathy Van Wolfe says vote by mail numbers have nearly doubled since the last presidential election.
“The last presidential election was in 2016 and we saw about 6,000 ballot by mail. This election, we’ve already seen over 11,000," said Kathy Van Wolfe, McLennan County Elections Administrator.
For several local Texans, mailing in your vote is more difficult than it sounds.
Some don’t even know if they’re eligible.
“If you are registered to vote, if you’re over 65, disabled or plan to be out of the county during early voting election day, you can apply for a ballot by mail.”
Van Wolfe says it’s important to mark your ballot with either a red, blue or black pen.
She says you can also request your mail-in ballot before October 23rd and mail it anytime before the November election, but it must be in the office by the end of Election Day or November 4th if it’s postmarked for 7pm Election Day.
“When you write that ballot, put it in the yellow carrier envelope and put a stamp on it. Make sure that when you seal it up you sign by the X," Van Wolfe said.
Van Wolfe says you can also drop off your ballot in the ballot box which is normally at your local elections office.
Van Wolfe says if you're receiving a mail-in ballot from a different address than your registered address, then you also need to fill out the statement of residence card in your mail-in ballot packet.
For information about mail-in ballots, click here.
