Voter Participation

How to Register | Absentee Ballots | E-Mailing Elected Officials

Increasing Estero’s Electoral Participation

On August 24, 2010, all Florida residents who are registered to vote here can cast their ballots in either the Republican or Democratic Primary Election. This is an important election for Estero voters because three people elected in this Primary election will join the other two members of the five member Lee County Board.

Persons interested in voting in these Florida elections, especially “Snowbirds”, need to register to vote between now and July 26th.

The following section describes how Estero’s unregistered voters can register to vote in Florida later this year.

2010 Election Calendar

How to Register to Vote in Florida

Any person at least 18 years of age, who is a citizen of the United States and a permanent resident of Florida and of the county where he wishes to register, is eligible to register with the Supervisor of Elections. Once registered, if you vote at least once every four years, your registration is active and permanent.

The Easiest Way to Register

A voter registration application may be obtained at the following website… http://election.dos.state.fl.us/RegToVote/webappform.pdf  . Just print a copy of the form, complete it and mail it to:

Lee County Supervisor of Elections
P.O Box 2545
Fort Myers, Florida 33902

Other Ways to Register

Forms may be obtained and completed at the Lee County Supervisor of Elections satellite office at 24951 Old US 41 Suite 10, Bonita Springs. This office is open from 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM Monday through Friday. It is located on the east side of Old 41 about two blocks south of the US 41/Old 41 intersection…just north of the railroad tracks.

Registration forms can also be obtained at public libraries, Chamber of Commerce, Dept of Motor Vehicles, AAA Motor Club sites throughout the county.

Information on registration forms may be obtained by calling (239) 533-8683.

How to Request Lee County Absentee Ballots

To request an absentee ballot, or for answers to questions about absentee ballots that are not covered below, please contact the Lee County Supervisor of Elections Absentee Department at 239-339-6315 or contact their Main Office by phone at 239-339-6300, or by fax at 239-339-6322.

To obtain an absentee ballot application form that you can mail to the Supervisor of Elections, go to the following webpage: http://www.leeelections.com/absballot.htm and click on "Click here to go to the Absentee Ballot Request Form page".

All registered voters can apply for an absentee ballot immediately. Applying early saves time because the Elections staff is not as busy and avoids the possibility of the ballot arriving too late. Legally, applications are accepted until 3 days prior to the election.

Rules and Procedures

Any registered voter in Lee County may request absentee ballots. Requests for absentee ballots may be requested for the primary election, the general election, both of them and for all elections within a calendar year. If you are requesting an absentee ballot for more than one election and will be at different locations be prepared to communicate that to the Supervisor of Elections when you request your absentee ballots.

Only the voter or a designated member of his or her immediate family or legal guardian can request an absentee ballot for the voter. Immediate family means the voter's spouse, or the parent, child, grandparent, or sibling of the voter or of the voter's spouse or legal guardian.

A request from the voter must include the following information:
*Name
*Date of Birth
*Driver's License Number
*Last 4 digits of Social Security Number (optional)
*Address and phone number where the ballot is to be sent (the ballot may not be forwarded)
*Election(s) Requested
*Signature (written request only)

In addition, if the voter has designated an immediate family member or legal guardian to request an absentee ballot, the designee must provide the following information:
*Name
*Address
*Driver's License number
*Relationship to voter
*Signature (written request only)

Returning an Absentee Ballot

Absentee ballots must be returned to the Supervisor of Elections' office by the voter, either in person or by mail no later than 7 p.m. on Election Day.
A VOTED BALLOT CANNOT BE ACCEPTED AT A POLLING PLACE