LEE COUNTY, Fla. — If you’re a Florida voter and reading this story right now, chances are you won’t get a mail ballot in the upcoming March election.

That’s because the vast majority of voters haven’t requested a mail ballot after theirs expired.

The Lee County Supervisor of Elections office wants to make sure that votes don’t go to waste after many voters are completely unaware that a new state law forced all counties to purge their mail ballot requests before every general election.

He was surprised that republican lawmakers passed the bill, which placed an expiration date on mail ballot requests.

“It’s definitely going to catch a lot of people off guard. A lot of people don’t know that. I didn’t know that. I didn’t know it expired,” Viccana said.

The new law signed by Governor Ron DeSantis requires all Florida counties to purge mail ballot requests before every general election.

Lee County has almost 470,000 registered voters, and about half usually vote by mail. So far, just over 100,000 have requested mail ballots.

Election supervisor Tommy Doyle said he’d like to see 250,000 mail ballot requests by the general election next year.

Collier County has almost 255,000 voters, and only 31,000 have requested mail ballots. Charlotte County reported they expect thousands of more mail ballot requests.

Doyle said if the election were held today, that could mean trouble.

“If we had this number, then we would really try to push early voting and get people out early so we don’t end up with lines on Election Day,” Doyle said.

If you want to make sure you get your vote by mail ballot in time, you can request one online, phone your local supervisor’s office, or visit in person.