Lee County voters who prefer to cast their ballot early have just a couple days left to do so, with vote-by-mail well underway.

Early voting for the Aug. 23 primary elections started Aug. 13 and will run each day from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. until Saturday, Aug. 20.

Early voting for the Nov. 8 General Election starts Oct. 24 and runs each day from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. until Nov. 5.

Lee County Supervisor of Elections Tommy Doyle said in a recent interview that the office has been working for years in preparation of this election, starting with qualifying periods some time ago. With the 2020 legislative session having resulted in some updates to the process, the office has ensured its administrative tasks and compliance are in order.

Doyle said laying out the ballot and making sure their machines are able to read the sheet is always a focal point.

“It’s a very stressful and tedious job,” he said as Early Voting kicked off. “We start testing every piece of equipment that will be used for Early Voting and on Election Day. It’s tested over and over again. We, of course, had public testing in front of the Canvassing Board, which went very well.”

Florida is a closed primary election state. As such, only voters who are registered members of political parties may vote for respective party candidates or nominees for an office during a Primary Election however there are races on the ballot for all voters so waiting for November is not advised for those looking to have a voice on some key races, including Lee County School Board and the Lee County Clerk of Courts.

Meanwhile, vote-by-mail ballots are coming in.

As of Aug. 18, the Lee County Elections Office has reported it has received 75,898 vote-by-mail ballots. Of these ballots, 43,406 are from registered Republicans, 27,675 from registered Democrats, 11,121 from no party affiliates and 713 “other.”

Doyle said his office has processes in place to ensure all vote-by-mail ballots are legitimate. A new law implemented as part of the aforementioned legislative session includes ballot access, where officials can observe some of the vote-by-mail ballots and how employees are verifying signatures. Another new law states an individual cannot possess and drop off vote-by-mail ballots for more than two family members. There are also new laws that make obtaining a vote-by-mail verifying process more stringent.

What happens when a vote-by-mail ballot signature doesn’t match?

“If anything is rejected, (the ballot) goes to another staff member who will either confirm that rejection or override that rejection,” Doyle said of the process. “If the rejection is agreed upon, that ballot goes to the Canvassing Board. Also, that voter is notified immediately that there is a deficiency with their vote-by-mail … and given instructions on how to cure that deficiency.”

According to the Lee Elections Office, there are 510,796 active eligible voters in the county.

More than 2,000 poll workers have been trained and Doyle said more are being added each day in preparation for both Early Voting and Election Day. Wait times for voting locations will be posted on www.lee.vote and barcodes can be scanned at each site for real-time queue estimates. Doyle added that with new redistricting, voters should look to their new voter cards to make sure they arrive at the correct precinct if voting in person on Primary Day or Election Day. The number of precincts has decreased from prior years and voters’ precinct numbers correlate to the district they live in.

Early voting locations include:

– Lee County Public Library: 921 Southwest 39th Terrace, Cape Coral

– Dr. Carrie D. Robinson Center: 2990 Edison Ave., Fort Myers

– East County Regional Library: 881 Gunnery Road N., Lehigh Acres

– Estero Recreation Center: 9200 Corkscrew Palms Blvd., Estero

– Fort Myers Regional Library: 1651 Lee St., Fort Myers

– Lakes Regional Library: 15290 Bass Road., Fort Myers

– Lee County Elections – Bonita Springs Branch Office: 25987 S. Tamiami Trail #105, Bonita Springs

– Lee County Elections – Cape Coral Branch Office: 1039 Southeast 9th Ave., Cape Coral

– Lee County Elections Center: 13180 S. Cleveland Ave., Fort Myers

– North Fort Myers Recreation Center: 2000 N. Recreation Park Way, North Fort Myers

– Northwest Regional Library: 519 Chiquita Blvd. N., Cape Coral

– Veterans Park Recreation Center: 55 Homestead Road S., Lehigh Acres

Races to appear on the ballot include:

– United States Senator: This Democratic primary sees Ricardo De La Fuente, Val Demings, Brian Rush and William Sanchez vying for the nomination. The winner will go up against incumbent Marco Rubio in the General Election.

– Governor and Lieutenant Governor: The Democratic primary sees Charlie Crist, Cadance Daniel, Nicole “Nikki” Fried and Robert L. Willis contend for the nomination. The winner will take on incumbent Ron DeSantis in the General Election.

– Attorney General: Another Democratic primary, candidates include Aramis Ayala, Jim Lewis, and Daniel Uhlfelder. The victor will take on incumbent Ashley Moodey in the General Election.

n Commissioner of Agriculture: Naomi Esther Blemur, J. R. Gaillot, and Ryan Morales are all vying for the Democratic nomination in this primary race. On the Republican side, James W. Shaw and Wilton Simpson are vying off. The winners will face-off in the General Election.

– Representative in Congress District 19: In the Republican race, incumbent Byron Donalds goes against Jim Huff for their party’s nomination. The winner takes on Cindy Banyai (D) and Patrick Post (No Party Affiliation, Write-in) in the General Election.

– Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller: The Universal Primary for the Clerk of Court & Comptroller sees two Cape Coral residents facing off, as incumbent Kevin Karnes and Liza King are candidates. Both are Republicans but all voters have it on their ballots and may vote regardless of party affiliation, as there are no other candidates.

– Lee County Commissioner District 5: There are three candidates in the closed Republican primary — John Albion, Joseph Robert Gambino and recently appointed Mike Greenwell. The winner of the primary will face Democrat Matthew “Matt” Wood and Angela R. Chenaille, who qualified as a write-in, in the General Election in November.

– County Judge Group 4: This non-partisan race sees Lindsay Scott Garza and Archie B. Hayward Jr.

– School Board Member District 1: The non-partisan District 1 race, to be decided by voters who live in the district — which includes parts Cape Coral and Pine Island – features four candidates, Christine DeVigili, Kathy Fanny, Sam Fisher and Cathy Stout.

– School Board Member District 4: The non-partisan District 4 race, to be decided by voters who live in the district — which includes parts of Cape Coral, North Fort Myers and Dunbar — features four candidates, Jason “Big Mama” Jones; Debbie Jordan, the incumbent; Dan Severson and Gerri Ware.

n School Board Member District 5: The non-partisan District 5 race, to be decided by voters who live in the district primarily North Fort Myers and Lehigh Acres — features two candidates, incumbent Gwynetta Gittens and Armor Persons.

– School Board Member District 6: All voters in Lee County will decide who will represent the District 6 seat on the Lee County School Board. Seat 6 is at-large and non-partisan, meaning all voters countywide may cast a ballot in a three-way race featuring Tia Collin, Jada Langford Fleming and Denise Nystrom.

Cape Coral City Council races are non-partisan, at-large races meaning every voters registered in the City of Cape Coral may cast a ballot regardless of the district in which they live and party affiliation. Two seats appear on the Aug. 23 ballot with the top two vote getters in each advancing to the General Election in November.

Races on the Primary Ballot are:

– District 1 Council member: This non-partisan race will decide a four-year term from 2022-26. Incumbent Gloria Tate has announced she will not run again. Candidates are Carol Rae Culliton, William “Bill” Steinke, Ally Wharton and Jean Pierre Etcheverry Jr.

– District 4 Council member: The non-partisan race will decide a four-year term from 2022-26. Incumbent Jennifer Nelson faces Patty Cummings and Joshua Clark.

Cape Coral voters will also decide two other races in November — the District 6 City Council seat and the Mayor’s seat.

Running in District 6 on the Nov. 8 General Election ballot is Wayne Hecht and incumbent Keith Long.

Running in mayor’s race on the Nov. 8 General Election ballot is incumbent John Gunter and Thomas Shadrach.

Cape Coral voters also will decide two referendums in the Aug. 23 Primary. The City Clerk’s office declined to comment on the referendums or Early Voting.

The first is entitled: “City Charter Amendment Relating to the Filling of Vacancies of the Mayor and City Councilmembers.”

The amendment ballot language reads:

“This proposal amends the Cape Coral City Charter to provide that when a special election is required to fill a Council vacancy, if three or more candidates qualify, a special primary election is required and must occur no sooner than 90 days and not later than 120 days following the date of the vacancy. A special general election must be held within 45 days following certification of the special primary election results.”

Voters may vote Yes or No.

The second charter amendment is entitled: “City Charter Amendment Relating to Authentication, Codification and Availability of City Records.”

The amendment ballot language reads:

“This proposal amends the Cape Coral City Charter to provide that the City Clerk shall authenticate and maintain ordinances and resolutions in codified form, and make them accessible for the use of the public promptly following adoption; removing the requirement of printed copies being maintained in libraries and public offices, in order to allow accessibility by electronic means.”

Voters may vote Yes or No.

Officials have described both as “housekeeping” measures.