VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — Some supervisors of elections in Central Florida are expecting record-breaking voter turnout, with a big demand on mail-in ballots.  

At the Volusia County Supervisor of Elections office, thousands of mail-in ballots are being received daily. 

“We are already up to about 154,000,” Volusia County Supervisor of Elections Lisa Lewis said, accounting for the number of requested mail-in ballots as of September 30. By October 9, that number had grown to 165,000. 

Many people, such as Richard Gallagher, are voting this way for this first time in their lives. 

“I always voted in person,” Gallagher said. 

But feeling uneasy, he is dropping off his vote himself.

“I wanna be sure because there is a lot at stake, and I want to be sure my vote gets there,” Gallagher said.

He claimed he didn’t want to send his vote in the mail after hearing about issues during the primary. Back in August, Spectrum News 13 reported on 1,281 ballots delivered to the Volusia elections office days late because of a mix-up at a U.S. Postal Service plant.  Due to election laws, those votes went uncounted. 

“They were there, and we could have and should have been able to count them,” Lewis said. 

Spectrum News 13 checked in with other supervisors of elections across Central Florida: Nearly all of them received from dozens to hundreds of late votes as well. However, most said voters mailed their ballots late. Orange County said it did not track when the late votes it received were postmarked.

Lewis said she is keeping an even closer eye on the post office this time but is hopeful, given how voting is going so far. 

“They have assured me that they have put procedures in place that everyone at the plants know to look for our ballots,” she said.​

The USPS issued a statement about the delivery of mail-in-ballots. 

“The Postal Service’s top priority is the secure, on-time delivery of the nation’s Election Mail," USPS said in the statement. While we are complying with recent court orders, coordination with the County and Secretary of State on our internal review took place separately.

Additionally, as of today, October 1, the Postal Service has authorized and instructed the use of additional resources, which include but are not limited to, expanded processing procedures, extra transportation, extra delivery and collection trips and overtime to ensure that Election Mail, including ballots, is delivered in a timely manner. These resources are part of the Postal Service’s ongoing preparations for the November election, and are is consistent with the recent orders.”

Gallagher said, “I am hoping they can handle the flow, it's going to be a lot of mail.”

October 24 is the deadline to request a mail-in ballot. Lewis expects demand to continue to grow until then. 

“I think it will be one for the record books for the turnout,” Lewis said. 

For voters who plan to use mail-in ballots but want to drop off their ballots in person, Lewis said every early voting site will have a ballot drop box that is checked daily starting October 19. Until then, ballots can be dropped off at the voter's county supervisor of elections office. ​

Mailed ballots must arrive at the supervisor of elections office by 7 p.m. Eastern Time on election night, November 3 — postmarks don’t count — and voters must sign their mailed ballots. Those signatures must match what is on file with the state, usually the signature on the voter's driver's license.