Council on Aging of West Florida and Escambia County Supervisor of Elections David Stafford will hold a joint news conference on Monday, May 21 at 10:30 a.m. at the Cobb Center, 601 East Mallory Street, Pensacola to kick off a campaign to urge senior citizens and other registered voters to update their voter signature. Voters whose signatures may have changed due to aging, health or other reasons should ensure that the Supervisor of Elections office has their current signature on file. A voter signature is used to verify absentee ballots, provisional ballots, and candidate and initiative petitions, and more. An outdated signature on file can render absentee ballots, provisional ballots, and petitions invalid.
The process of updating a voter signature can be done quickly using a Florida Voter Registration Application (FVRA). At the same time, voters can update their address, change their party affiliation, or even update their name using an FVRA. Elections office staff will be at the Cobb Center to assist voters, and will be accepting absentee ballot requests.
The elections office will also demonstrate the newly acquired AutoMARK ballot marking device, which assists persons with disabilities or persons who have difficulty filling in the ovals on their ballots. The AutoMARK allows a voter to use a touchscreen and/or audio headset interface with a Braille keypad to make their choices, marks a paper ballot for the voter, which is then tabulated by the DS200 digital precinct scanner. At least one AutoMARK will be available at each polling place and early voting site in the county beginning with the August Primary Election, and replaces the iVotronic touchscreens.
The campaign encourages any voter who wishes to do so to update their signature prior to the August 14 Primary Election. Voter applications are available not only from the Council on Aging and the Supervisor of Elections office, but nearly 50 locations in Escambia County. For a complete list of locations, visit EscambiaVotes.com and click on “Register to Vote” in the top left corner. For more information contact the Supervisor of Elections office at (850) 595-3900 or email us at [email protected].