Sarasota County resident reports campaign sign taken from yard, incident caught on video

SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB) - Election officials say Manatee County is seeing a drop in vote-by-mail participation compared to four years ago, while Sarasota County’s vote-by-mail numbers are on pace with the last midterm election. The midterm elections are three weeks away.Sign taken from Siesta Key yardVideo from a home in Siesta Key shows someone walking onto the property and taking a campaign sign from the yard, according to the homeowner.The Sarasota County supervisor of elections said he has seen this kind of activity before, saying elections often bring out strong emotions from supporters on all sides.Half a million Floridians return mail ballotsThe homeowner who watched the incident happen on security cameras said it was disheartening.“This is a time for everybody to have a vote and know who’s running and it’s one of the most important seasons of the year and to go out stealing signs it shows a weakness,” said Michael Burns, Siesta Key resident.Burns said he filed a report with Saras