Countywide mail-in election in Volusia County for half-cent sales tax

VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. (FOX 35 ORLANDO) - It’s a historic election without polling places. Every ballot is sent through the mail.

All of the work is happening to let voters decide on a half-cent sales tax. 

There are still hundreds of thousands of ballots that are sitting in boxes, waiting to be loaded up and mailed out Wednesday. 

This massive countywide special election is a huge undertaking for Volusia County.

After weeks of preparation, three massive truck-loads of ballots are going out in the mail Wednesday to all 400,000 voters in Volusia County.

“We've been preparing for this and prepping for it and thinking May 1st was a long way off, but it's here tomorrow,” said Volusia County Elections Supervisor Lisa Lewis.

The vote is a special election on a half-cent sales surtax. 

That money would go toward infrastructure, water quality and flood control projects. 

It’s the first-ever countywide election in Volusia County by mail. 

Doing it by mail saves the county $70,000-$80,000. 

Plus, “it's sent to all the voters, goes right to their home. You can vote, drop it right back in the mail at their house without ever having to leave,” Lewis said.

But, Lewis may not have realized how much this election would weigh, literally, on her, her staff and volunteers. 

“It's a lot of back-breaking work to load and unload carts, to move them from one place to the other. It’s pretty awesome when you think of having to do this endeavor.”

But she says it's worth it, especially if convenience for voters means greater voter turnout.

“It's prideful too to know that we've done and we're getting this out to the voters and giving them the opportunity to vote yes or no,” Lewis said.

The trucks will drive to Lake Mary Wednesday and mail the ballots from there. 

The Lake Mary post office location is a hub, and mailing directly from there will save a day.

Voters in Volusia County have to mail their ballots back by May 21.