Early voting starts Monday at two Lakewood Ranch sites; Manatee mail ballot requests due Oct. 22

Early voting for the Nov. 3 general election begins Monday, Oct. 19, and runs through Sunday, Nov. 1. Manatee County voters in Lakewood Ranch can use two Lakewood Ranch sites, Lakewood Ranch Library at 16410 Rangeland Parkway and Lakewood Ranch Town Hall at 8175 Lakewood Ranch Blvd., according to the Lakewood Ranch Beacon.

Manatee voters who would rather vote from home have less time: the Manatee County Supervisor of Elections lists Thursday, Oct. 22, as the last day to request a vote-by-mail ballot.

Voting early in Manatee County

The Manatee County Supervisor of Elections lists early voting hours as 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. During early voting, Manatee voters are not tied to a precinct and can cast a ballot at any of the county's early voting centers.

The Beacon reports the library and Town Hall are two of eight early voting centers in the county, with others in Bradenton, Palmetto, Parrish and Ellenton.

The elections office tells voters to bring a valid, current photo ID that includes a signature.

If you live on the Sarasota side

Lakewood Ranch crosses the Manatee-Sarasota county line, and the Beacon notes residents must vote in the county where they are registered. The library and Town Hall sites are Manatee County early voting centers. Residents registered in Sarasota County can find their county's early voting sites, hours and deadlines through the Sarasota County Supervisor of Elections at SarasotaVotes.gov.

Mail ballots and Election Day

In Manatee County, completed mail ballots must be in the Supervisor of Elections Office by 7 p.m. on Nov. 3. Voters can follow their ballot through the county's voter status tool, which shows when it went out and when the office received it.

Early voting ends Nov. 1. On Election Day, polls are open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and in-person voters must go to the polling place assigned to their precinct rather than any site in the county. The same voter status tool on VoteManatee.gov shows where each voter casts a ballot that day.

Questions can go to the Manatee elections office at (941) 741-3823 on weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.