THE DAILY BS: HOW MUCH CAN YOU HANDLE?
SPARE ME THE BS (I’ve got things to do).
- Some Miami-Dade County voters received mail-in ballot packages with the return envelopes already sealed.
- Election officials blame heat, rain and humidity for activating the envelope glue during delivery.
- Supervisor of Elections Alina Garcia told voters they can carefully reopen the envelopes and tape them shut, provided the required signature is included.
LAY IT ON ME (I’ve got time).
Florida’s mail-in voting system has encountered an opponent nobody was expecting: the weather.
Some Miami-Dade County voters have received their mail-ballot packages only to discover that the return envelopes were already sealed shut.
That’s a fairly significant inconvenience when the purpose of the envelope is to put a ballot inside it.
Local 10 News reported Thursday that voters began raising concerns about the problem as the November 3 midterms approached.
Election officials say the explanation is surprisingly ordinary.
Heat, rain and Florida’s famously oppressive humidity apparently affected the glue while ballot packages sat in mailboxes, causing some return envelopes to stick together before voters could use them.
Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections Alina Garcia told voters not to panic. Her suggested solution? Carefully open the envelope and use ordinary Scotch tape to reseal it.
“The important thing is your signature,” Garcia said.
And if the envelope is too badly damaged to be usable, officials say voters can bring their completed ballots to one of the county’s 28 early-voting locations during the authorized drop-off period, along with the identification required for that process.
As of Thursday, more than 100,000 people had already cast ballots by mail in Miami-Dade County.
The timing makes the problem particularly unwelcome. Thursday was also the deadline for requesting a mail ballot for the November election. County officials have emphasized that completed mail ballots must be received by 7 p.m. on Election Day, November 3.
There’s something wonderfully Florida about an election complication caused not by elaborate technology or a courtroom battle, but by ordinary envelope adhesive losing a fight with humidity.
In a state where the air itself sometimes feels wet enough to swim through, perhaps election officials have found a new item for their pre-election checklist.
Ballots? Check. Voting machines? Check. Pens? Check. Weatherproof glue? Apparently worth another look.
DBS WIRE SOURCES (I’ve got all day).
- Local 10 — Voters receive already sealed return envelopes; election supervisor responds
- Miami-Dade County — Official October 2026 voting deadlines and return instructions
- Miami-Dade Elections — Official voter information and election administration
