A federal judge is ordering the state of Florida to give voters a chance to make sure their vote-by-mail ballots are counted.

U.S. District Judge Mark Walker late Sunday ruled county elections offices should notify voters if their signature on a vote-by-mail ballot and their voter registration forms don't match. Voters would then be given a chance to fix the problem by 5 p.m. the day before the election.

The sued the state because currently voters who don't sign their vote-by-mail ballot are given a chance to fix it. But voters whose signatures don't match aren't told about the problem until after the election is over.

Meredith Beatrice, a spokeswoman for Secretary of State Ken Detzner, said state officials were reviewing the decision.

Copyright 2020 WUSF Public Media - WUSF 89.7. To see more, visit .

DMV.ORG /