Vote by Mail in St. Lucie County, Florida

A ballot sent anywhere but the address on file needs a signed written request, which the Supervisor of Elections takes on form DS-DE 160 by email, by mail to Fort Pierce or by fax to 772-462-1534 (Vote-by-Mail page).

That rule comes straight from Florida Statutes 101.62(1)(b), which the Supervisor of Elections page quotes: a request to mail the ballot elsewhere "must be made in writing," signed by the voter, and must carry a Florida driver license number, a Florida identification card number or the last four digits of the Social Security number (Florida Statutes 101.62). The statute exempts absent uniformed services voters and overseas voters from the signed written request when their ballot goes to a different address. A request sent to the address already in the Florida Voter Registration System can be made in person or by telephone instead, as long as the caller gives one of those three numbers so the office can verify it.

Every request the Supervisor of Elections receives, however it arrives, has to disclose the voter's name, address and date of birth, and, when someone else asks on the voter's behalf, that person's name, address, relationship to the voter and, if available, an identification number (F.S. 101.62). The county's printed 2026 Voter Information Guide lists these ways to ask for a ballot at the residential address: in person, by mail, by telephone, by fax, by email or on the office website (2026 Voter Information Guide). The county says the request status can be tracked online, and that ballots are mailed in envelopes marked Do Not Forward that come back to the office if they cannot be delivered (Vote-by-Mail page).

Every older standing request in St. Lucie County lapsed on December 31, 2024, because a Florida request now covers elections only through the end of the calendar year of the next regularly scheduled general election (Request a Vote-by-Mail Ballot page).

The St. Lucie County request page states that under Florida Statutes 101.62 "all vote-by-mail requests expired on December 31, 2024," and a voter who has mailed in ballots for years will not automatically receive one without filing a new request (Request a Vote-by-Mail Ballot page). The statute adds a second way a request ends early: the supervisor must cancel it whenever first-class or nonforwardable mail to the voter is returned as undeliverable, and a voter who asks again after that must provide or confirm a current residential address (F.S. 101.62).

The Supervisor of Elections general vote-by-mail page repeats the cycle rule and tells voters to submit a new request once that year ends, and it asks voters to report any change of address because ballots are not forwarded (Vote-by-Mail page). A voter who has not received a requested ballot is told to call (772) 462-1500 or email the office (Request a Vote-by-Mail Ballot page).

Florida Statutes 101.62(3) sets the mailing windows, and the St. Lucie County Supervisor of Elections guide summarizes them as ballots going out approximately 40 days before each election (Florida Statutes 101.62; Voter Information Guide).

Every row in the table quotes Florida Statutes 101.62, the law the Supervisor of Elections in Fort Pierce applies. The same subsection limits in-person pickup during the mandatory early voting period and until 7 p.m. on election day to an emergency that keeps the voter from reaching an early voting site or the assigned polling place, and the voter or designee then signs an affidavit. The St. Lucie County page names that affidavit as form DS-DE 162 and lists what a designee brings: the voter's signed affidavit, or a note with the voter's name, date of birth, ID number and signature, plus the designee's own valid photo ID (Vote-by-Mail page). A designee may not pick up more than two ballots per election besides his or her own, except for immediate family members.

Each packet from the Supervisor of Elections holds the ballot, a secrecy envelope for the marked ballot and a return mailing envelope addressed to the supervisor with the Voter's Certificate on its back (Florida Statutes 101.64).

For ballots the Supervisor of Elections mails, Florida Statutes 101.64 arranges the certificate so the signature line runs across the envelope seal, yet a signature that does not cross the seal does not make the ballot illegal under Florida Statutes 101.68 (F.S. 101.64; F.S. 101.68). The certificate also has lines for an email address and home and mobile telephone numbers, and the St. Lucie County office asks voters to fill those in so staff can make contact if needed (Vote-by-Mail page). Neither envelope may show the voter's political party, and the secrecy envelope must print a bold warning that the supervisor has to receive the ballot by 7 p.m. on election day for it to count (F.S. 101.64).

Two practical rules come from the Supervisor of Elections page: the voter must personally vote the ballot unless help is needed because of blindness, disability or inability to read or write, and a power of attorney signature is not valid on a vote-by-mail ballot (Vote-by-Mail page). Under Florida Statutes 101.68, two or more ballots returned in one mailing envelope may not be counted, and once the supervisor receives a ballot it is deemed cast and the certificate cannot be changed (F.S. 101.68).

A voted ballot goes back by mail, into an intake station at one of four Supervisor of Elections offices or at an early voting site during early voting, arriving by 7 p.m. on Election Day (Vote-by-Mail page; mail ballot notice).

The Supervisor of Elections office and mail rows come from the St. Lucie County mail ballot notice; the polling place row and the reminder to use enough postage come from the Vote-by-Mail page. Florida Statutes 101.69(2) requires intake stations at the supervisor's main office, at qualifying permanent branch offices and at each early voting site; stations away from an office may be used only during early voting hours, and each must be watched in person by a supervisor's employee (Florida Statutes 101.69).

The Supervisor of Elections printed guide says ballots must be returned to the Supervisor of Elections Main Office at 4132 Okeechobee Road no later than 7:00 p.m. on Election Day (Voter Information Guide), while the web pages list all four offices and the early voting sites (mail ballot notice).

The voter can still save the ballot by sending the signature affidavit with a copy of identification so that it reaches the Supervisor of Elections by 5 p.m. on the second day after the election (missing or mismatched signature page).

Under Florida Statutes 101.68(4), the St. Lucie County Supervisor of Elections must try to reach the voter by email, text message or telephone and also by first-class mail, with the mailed notice no longer required beginning the day before the election, each time pointing to the affidavit and instructions on the office website (F.S. 101.68). The affidavit goes in with a copy of Tier 1 identification, a current photo ID such as a Florida driver license, a U.S. passport, a student ID or a veteran health identification card; only a voter with none of those may use Tier 2 proof showing name and current residence address, such as a utility bill, bank statement, government check or paycheck (missing or mismatched signature page). The statute lets the voter mail, deliver, fax or email the affidavit and ID copy.

When the Supervisor of Elections validates a ballot through that affidavit, the affidavit is also processed as a signature update, and after certification the supervisor notifies each voter whose ballot was rejected and gives the specific reason (F.S. 101.68). The county advises updating an old signature ahead of time on a voter registration application, noting that to count for a mail ballot the update must reach the office before the ballot does (Vote-by-Mail page).

Yes, as long as the ballot has not already been returned; the voter brings the mail ballot, voted or not, to the polling place or an early voting site so the Supervisor of Elections can cancel it (Florida Statutes 101.69; Vote-by-Mail page).

Florida Statutes 101.69(1) spells out what happens without the ballot in hand: if the election official confirms the supervisor already received it, the voter may not vote in person and is offered a provisional ballot when the voter maintains it was not returned or that the voter remains eligible to vote; if the official confirms it was not received, the voter votes normally and a mail ballot arriving later is marked "Rejected as Illegal"; and if receipt cannot be determined, the voter may vote a provisional ballot (F.S. 101.69). The St. Lucie County page puts the same advice in one line: a voter who does not bring the mail ballot to the polls may be asked to vote provisionally (Vote-by-Mail page).

The voter registration and Supervisor of Elections guides on this site cover signing up, branch offices and accepted ID. Last verified: October 22, 2026, for St. Lucie County by rereading the office's vote-by-mail, request, missing signature and ballot return notice pages, its 2026 guide, and Florida Statutes 101.62, 101.64, 101.68 and 101.69.