Publications

What you need to know to vote accessibly and independently in Florida.

How to vote-by-mail 

Every Floridian who has a right to vote is allowed to vote-by-mail. 

Every county is required to provide an accessible vote-by-mail option, allowing a person who is blind or print impaired to mark a secret, independent, and verifiable vote-by-mail ballot using a computer and their own technology. 

• You must be registered to vote. 
• You can check if you are registered by looking online. 
• You must contact the Supervisor of Elections Office in the county where you live and ask for a vote-by-mail ballot at least 12 days before an election. 
• For accessible vote-by-mail, you must also ask for a remote access vote-by-mail ballot. You will receive the standard paper ballot AND the accessible ballot in your email. 
• Fill out the accessible ballot, print it out, and return it to your Supervisor of Elections Office, either through the mail or in person. 

How to vote in person 

You can vote in person during Early Voting or on Election Day. You can vote early at any open location in your county, but you will need to vote at your assigned polling place on election day. 

• To vote in person, you need to bring a valid photo identification (photo ID) that has your signature on it. 
• Additionally, you can bring a sample ballot that you have filled out in advance or a piece of paper that includes the details of your preferred candidates and your choices regarding amendments and other ballot questions. 
• The way you cast your vote must be accessible. The Help America Vote Act requires at least one voting machine in every polling place to be accessible to anyone who has a disability. 

Congregate Facility Voting Rights 

Florida allows people living in nursing homes and assisted living facilities to request what the law calls Supervised Facility Voting. This means that if five or more residents ask the administration of a facility to vote, and the administrator contacts the supervisor of elections in their county, the supervisor will have staff go to the facility and residents can cast their ballots there. 

Currently, Supervised Facility Voting only applies to the two types of facilities mentioned, but unless they have been removed, voting rights are also protected in other types of facilities, including group homes, intermediate care facilities, treatment facilities, and jails. 

Rights & Resources 

Voters with disabilities have a right to: 

• Vote privately and independently. 
• Utilize accessible poll sites, voter registration systems, vote-by-mail balloting and other ballot casting devices. 
• Receive assistance from any person of your own choosing (other than employer or a union representative) to cast a ballot. 

These rights are protected by the following federal laws as well as related state law: 

• The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) 
• The Voting Rights Act of 1965 
• The Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act of 1984 
• The National Voter Registration Act of 1993 

Rights Removal 

A person may not have the right to vote when they have: 

• A plenary guardianship. If a person is under limited guardianship, the guardianship order must state that the right to vote has been removed. 
• A felony conviction in Florida for murder or a sexual offense, unless and until the person's right to vote is restored by the State Clemency Board. 
• A felony conviction in Florida where the terms of a sentence, including payment of fines is not complete. 
• A felony conviction in another state which would remove voting rights in that state. 

Disability Rights Florida Voter Information Hub 

The voting section of our website has: 

• Fact sheets 
• Videos explaining accessible voting machines and accessible vote-by-mail 
• Voting rights information 
• and more. 

Find your Supervisor of Elections. 

Find your Poll Site. 

Voting Rights Hotline: 

Call 877-352-7337 if you have an issue with voting or registering to vote due to a disability.

Contacting Disability Rights Florida 

On your initial call to us, an intake specialist will ask for some general information about you and a brief summary of your issue. Your information is then submitted for review. 

Our services are free and confidential. 

Disability Rights Florida is a non-profit organization funded by a variety of sources. For a complete list of funders, please visit DisabilityRightsFlorida.org/funders. 

The information provided herein does not constitute legal representation or advice.