Almost two weeks after Hurricane Matthew battered Florida's east coast, ripple effects from storm damage continue to shake up the general election.
- 1,500 Volusia mail-in ballots damaged by Hurricane Matthew
- Elections officials encourage voters to replace damaged ballots
- Deadline to request a new ballot is Nov. 2
- RELATED: Full coverage of Florida's role in the election at Florida Decides
More than 1,500 mail-in ballots of 72,000 sent to voters in Volusia County, were soaked, torn and tattered, making them possibly unable to be read by a voting machine.
Volusia County Supervisor of Elections Lisa Lewis said her office mailed out the 72,000 ballots to voters Oct. 4, just three days before Hurricane Matthew slammed into the coast.
Now, with just three weeks before the general election, office has had to replace 1,500, along with 1,200 envelopes, Lewis said.
One of many mail-in ballots that Lewis showed off Tuesday had pieces falling off, battered by Matthew’s winds, and drenched by rain.
“Some of them, we’ve heard, ended up in a neighbor’s yard. Some of them were wet, sitting in their mailbox; others, their mailbox blew away,” Lewis said.
Lewis said her office is willing to replace the Matthew-damaged ballots. Voters must request a replacement by either calling or visting the Supervisor of Elections office in DeLand. The last day to do that is Wednesday, Nov. 2.
However, she warned that if a voter decides to send in their damaged ballot, it may have to be replaced.
“When something is that damaged and wet, we try to get a hold of the voter so that they can come in and replace their ballot,” Lewis said.
She added that if a battered ballot is run through the voting machine, the machine will likely not be able to read it, prompting workers to ask the voter to submit an affidavit confirming the ballot is truly the one they submitted.