Safekeeping of mailed ballots; deadline for receiving vote-by-mail ballots.

(1)(a) The supervisor of elections shall safely keep in his or her office any envelopes received containing marked ballots of absent electors, and he or she shall, before the canvassing of the election returns, deliver the envelopes to the county canvassing board along with his or her file or list kept regarding said ballots.

(b) To the extent practicable, the supervisor of elections shall segregate any vote-by-mail ballots received from a person to whom notice has been sent pursuant to s. 98.075(7), but for whom a final determination of eligibility has not been made, and shall treat them as provisional ballots for individual review by the county canvassing board. The supervisor shall attempt to contact each voter whose ballot has been set aside under this paragraph in the same manner as if the voter had voted a provisional ballot under s. 101.048.

(2) Except as provided in s. 101.6952(5), all marked absent electors’ ballots to be counted must be received by the supervisor by 7 p.m. the day of the election. All ballots received thereafter shall be marked with the time and date of receipt and filed in the supervisor’s office.