Sarasota Election Day 2026 Voting Guide: Where, How To Vote; Candidates

SARASOTA COUNTY, FL — Voters in Sarasota County will take to the polls on Tuesday, deciding governor, U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives, and state legislative races, along with local contests, in the Nov. 3 midterm election.

They will also have a say on state constitutional amendments and county charter referendums on Election Day.

Most Florida polling places are open on Election Day from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. EST, while some counties in the Panhandle are open until 8 p.m. EST because they're in the Central Time Zone. (Be sure to bring a photo ID with you.)

Find more information on how to vote, as well as candidates and issues on this year's ballot below.

Voter Turnout

Even before the polls open on Tuesday morning, about 40 percent of about 13.7 million registered voters in Florida have already cast their ballots, according to the University of Florida Election Lab.

Nearly 5.46 million voters in the state voted early, either in person (nearly 3.47 million) or by mail (about 1.99 million,) according to the Election Lab.

About 2.06 million or 37.8 percent of registered Democrats and about 2.92 million or 40.2 percent of registered Republicans opted to vote early, data shows. About 1.2 million or 22 percent of independent voters also voted early.

In Sarasota County, about 46 percent (nearly 154,000) of eligible voters voted early, with nearly 79,000 voting in person and about 75,000 voting by mail, according to the Sarasota County Supervisor of Elections office.

The county saw the second-highest voter turnout for early voting in the state, data shows.

How to Vote in Sarasota County

Polling places across the county are open to registered voters from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. EST on Nov. 3. If you are in line at 7 p.m., you will be allowed to vote, but if you arrive at the polling place after 7 p.m., you will not be allowed to vote.

On Election Day, you may only vote in person at the polling place assigned to your district.

Before voting, you can review your voter registration information, including where you vote, here. You can also review your personalized sample ballot and track the status of your ballot if you voted by mail.

Forms of ID

In order to cast your ballot at the polls, you’ll need to bring a valid and current photo and signature ID to your polling station.

Acceptable forms of ID in Florida include:

• Florida driver license
• Florida ID card (issued by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles)
• U.S. passport
• Debit or credit card
• Military ID
• Student ID
• Retirement center ID
• Neighborhood association ID
• Public assistance ID
• Veteran health ID (issued by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs)
• Concealed weapon license (issued pursuant to F.S. 790.06)
• Employee ID card issued by any branch, department, agency or entity of the federal government, the state, a county, or a municipality.

If your photo ID doesn't contain your signature, an additional ID with your signature is required.

Without proper identification, you may still vote with a provisional ballot, which will later be evaluated by a canvassing board for eligibility.

Voters are welcome to bring a sample ballot to the polling place marked with their choices so there are no delays in voting.

When you arrive at the polls:

1. Check in with your valid and current photo and signature ID.
2. Receive your paper ballot and proceed to a privacy booth.
3. Using the black pen provided, completely fill in the oval next to each of your selections.
4. Review your ballot. If you wish to make changes, request another ballot.
5. If you have any questions, ask a poll worker before you insert the ballot in the scanner. Once a ballot has been accepted, it cannot be retrieved.

Candidates and Issues

Sarasota County voters will cast votes for candidates in multiple state and local races, and will also have a say in statewide and county issues in the Nov. 3 general election.

A sample ballot can be found here.

The following candidates and issues will be on the ballot. Voters will select one in each race unless noted otherwise.

Patch sent candidate questionnaires to those running for Sarasota County Commission and Sarasota County Schools seats, as well as the Sarasota City Commission. The profiles of candidates who responded to our questionnaires are linked at their name; if a candidate name has no link, that means they didn’t respond.

Federal Races:

U.S. Senator

• Ashley Moody, Republican
• Angie Nixon, Democrat
• Neil J. Gillespie, No Party Affiliation

U.S House of Representatives, District 16

• Sydney Gruters, Republican
• Kelly Kirschner, Democrat
• Mark Davis, No Party Affiliation

U.S House of Representatives, District 17

• Matthew Montavon, Democrat
• Michael J. Quirk, No Party Affiliation
• Greg Steube, Republican

State Candidate Contests:

Governor and Lieutenant Governor

• Byron Donalds/Bryan Avila, Republican
• David Jolly/Gwen Graham, Democrat
• Scott Eckhard Jewett/Nicole Skelly, Libertarian Party of Florida
• Charles Burkett/Ruben Coto, No Party Affiliation
• Frank J. Russo/Rachel Rodriguez, No Party Affiliation
• Moliere “Moe” Dimanche/Benjaman Rojas, No Party Affiliation
• Dean Ocean Abrams/Joe Van Vactor, No Party Affiliation
• Jeffrey Peter “Dr. Jeff” Datto/Juan Santana, No Party Affiliation
• Qualified Write-In Candidates - Kathy Anderson/Daniel Nokovich and Erik Morris/LeRoy Alaways

Attorney General

• James Uthmeier, Republican
• Jose Javier Rodriguez, Democrat

Chief Financial Officer

• Blaise Ingoglia, Republican
• Annette Taddeo, Democrat

Commissioner of Agriculture

• Wilton Simpson, Republican
• Joey Mendoza Atkins, Democrat
• Qualified Write-In Candidate - Kyle “KC” Gibson

State Senator, District 20

• James Buchanan, Republican
• Martin Hyde, No Party Affiliation
• Lew Wasserman, Democrat

State Representative, District 72

• William “Bill” Conerly, Republican
• Harvey Shifrin, Democrat

State Representative, District 73

• Lisa Klein, Democrat
• Fiona McFarland, Republican

State Representative, District 74

• Ryan Neill, Democrat
• Nick Pachota, Republican

State Representative, District 75

• Cynthia L. Butler, Democrat
• Danny Nix Jr., Republican

Judicial Retention:

Justice of the Supreme Court

Shall Justice Carlos G. Muniz of the Supreme Court be retained in office?

• Yes
• No

District Court of Appeal

Shall Justice Drew Atkins of the Second District Court of Appeal be retained in office?

• Yes
• No

Shall Justice Morris Silberman of the Second District Court of Appeal be retained in office?

• Yes
• No

Shall Justice Daniel H. Sleet of the Second District Court of Appeal be retained in office?

• Yes
• No

Shall Justice Andrea Teves Smith of the Second District Court of Appeal be retained in office?

• Yes
• No

Sarasota County Races:

Board of County Commissioners, District 4

• Jim DeNiro, Republican
• Julie London, Democrat

School Board, District 1

• Heidi Brandt
• Jimmy Glover

Sarasota City Commission:

At-Large Seats (choose two)

• Jen Ahearn-Koch
• Florence Entler
• John Harshman

Florida Constitutional Amendments:

No. 1 - Constitutional Amendment Article II, Section 19 - Budget Stabilization Fund

Proposing an amendment to the State Constitution to increase the amount of funds that may be retained in the budget stabilization fund from 10% to 25% of general revenue collections, require the legislature to transfer the lesser of $750 million or the amount required to reach 25% of the general revenue collections each year unless certain conditions are met, and allow the legislature to withdraw funds for critical state needs.

• Yes
• No

No. 2 - Constitutional Amendment, Article VII, Section 3; Article XII - Exemption of Tangible Personal Property on Agricultural Land from Taxation

Proposing an amendment to the State Constitution to exempt tangible personal property habitually located or typically present on land classified as agricultural, used in the production of agricultural products or for agritourism activities, and owned by the landowner or leaseholder of the agricultural land from ad valorem taxation. If approved this amendment would first apply for tax years beginning January 1, 2027.

• Yes
• No

No. 3 - Constitutional Amendment Article VII, Sections 4, 6 and 9; Article XII - Increased Homestead Exemption; Lower Cap on Increases in Non-Homestead Property Assessments

This amendment increases the homestead exemption, for all non-school taxes, to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, and adjusts for inflation thereafter. It requires the Legislature to prescribe a uniform procedure for counties and municipalities, for their respective levies, to increase the homestead exemption up to full assessed value, and allows special districts, subject to referendum approval, to do the same.

Persons who are not Florida residents on December 31, 2026, will receive the existing homestead exemption upon qualifying for a homestead exemption, with the increased homestead exemption beginning with the fifth year of exemption, to the extent permitted by the U.S. Constitution.

This amendment reduces the annual cap on assessment increases for non-homestead properties from 10% to 5%.

This amendment requires counties and municipalities to use property taxes solely for public safety, education and schools, infrastructure, natural resources, bond debt service, retirement benefits for employees, and operations and administration. Other expenditures may be approved by county officers or county or municipal governing bodies unless prohibited by general law, notwithstanding Article VII, Section 9(a) of the Florida Constitution, which allows counties and municipalities to levy property taxes for their respective purposes.

This amendment takes effect January 1, 2027.

• Yes
• No