Florida election supervisors will count ballots earlier this year

Election supervisors will start counting votes earlier this year

The state can start counting ballots early this year because of the increase in mail ballots.

PASCO COUNTY, Fla. - With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, more people will be voting by mail. That also means that the process of in-person voting has to change some. Yet, with Election Day just six weeks away and all these changes on the horizon, Florida's election supervisors are speaking words of confidence.

Florida election supervisors can start counting mail ballots even earlier this year given the increase in demand. The count will be done in several stages. It is possible that two-thirds of ballots come in through the mail -- that's more than twice as many as normal.

"Florida is the largest battleground state in the nation. We are used to the perennial spotlight. Since 2000, it is nothing new to us. We had three statewide recounts in 2018. My colleagues and I -- we are up for the challenge," Brian Corley, the Pasco County Supervisor of Elections said.

Gov. DeSantis is allowing them to start counting 27 to 30 days ahead of Election Day, instead of the previous number of 22. And since Florida is allowed to county early votes ahead of Election Day, that could mean we wait on other states for national results.

"Florida has the opportunity to be the shining star of the night. We will have unofficial election results on election night. We always do," Corley said.

However, he wants to remind voters that "nothing is going to be official on election night."

Supervisors are also warning Florida residents that if you vote in person, there will be longer waits than usual because of social distancing.

Tune in to FOX 35 Orlando for the latest 2020 election updates.