Highlands County ballot — November 3, 2026
Official candidate line-up from the Florida Division of Elections (downloaded September 17, 2026), plus the districts that cover Highlands County. Where a district covers only part of the county, your address decides which one you vote in: use the state's voter lookup ↗ or your county sample ballot.
This page is the official line-up from the state's candidate list. For researched positions and the match tool on the races you actually vote in, enter where you vote; races this guide has researched are linked below where they apply.
Statewide (same everywhere in Florida)
U.S. Senate (special election)
Governor & Lieutenant Governor
Attorney General
Chief Financial Officer
Commissioner of Agriculture
Constitutional amendments 1, 2 and 3
Official language, what Yes and No mean, and who supports and opposes each.
Congress
U.S. House, District 18
- Scott Franklin Republican
- Curtis Gibson Democratic
- Deva Simmons No Party Affiliation
Florida Legislature
Florida Senate, District 29
Not on the 2026 ballot: odd-numbered Senate districts are next up in 2028.
Florida House, District 83
Covers: Glades, Hardee, Highlands, Okeechobee
- Kaylee Tuck Republican
- Leigh Estes Democratic
Judges
Sixth District Court of Appeal — merit retention
Highlands County is in the 10th Judicial Circuit, whose appeals go to this court. Each judge is a separate Yes/No question.
Circuit Judge, 10th Circuit
No contested circuit-judge seat on the November ballot in this circuit (contested groups were decided in August or all candidates were unopposed).
Highlands County offices
Board of County Commissioners
District 2
Don Elwell Republican Elected without opposition — no vote held
District 4
Frank Youngman Republican Elected without opposition — no vote held
School Board
District 1
- James Jonsten Nonpartisan
- Kari Gurganus Pritchett Nonpartisan
District 4
Hilary Hathaway Nonpartisan Elected without opposition — no vote held
District 5
- Gary Brown Nonpartisan
- Andy Tuck Nonpartisan
"Elected without opposition" seats do not appear on the ballot. Seats decided in the August primary are not listed. City and town elections and local referendums are run by each county and are not in the state candidate list: check your county's sample ballot.
Special districts (Soil & Water Conservation Districts, Community Development District) — contested seats and unopposed members
Soil & Water Conservation Districts
Seat 1
Doug Deen Nonpartisan Elected without opposition — no vote held
Seat 3
T.J. Wohl Nonpartisan Elected without opposition — no vote held
Seat 5
Sara L Sebring Nonpartisan Elected without opposition — no vote held
Community Development District
- Stephen Kramer Nonpartisan
- Beverly Phillips Nonpartisan
Seat 4
Troy Marsh Nonpartisan Elected without opposition — no vote held
Seat 5
Phil Gentry Nonpartisan Elected without opposition — no vote held
Highlands County Supervisor of Elections
- Supervisor
- Karen Healy
- Phone
- 863-402-6655
- Address
- 580 S. Commerce Ave, Room A201 Sebring, FL 33870 PO Drawer 3448 Sebring, FL 33871 -3448
Sample ballot, early voting and mail ballots ↗
Statewide deadlines: register by Oct. 5, 2026; request a mail ballot by 5 p.m. Oct. 22; mandatory early voting Oct. 24–31 (counties may add days); polls open 7 a.m.–7 p.m. on Nov. 3.
Sources for this page
- Florida Division of Elections Candidate Tracking System, 2026 General Election (ElectionID 20261103-GEN), state and local candidate extracts downloaded 2026-09-17 from https://dos.elections.myflorida.com/candidates/downloadcanlist.asp. Contact fields removed. Status meanings per the Division: Qualified = qualified for the ballot; Unopposed = no opponent (elected without a vote); Defeated = lost in the primary; Withdrew / Did Not Qualify / Removed = not on the ballot.
- U.S. Census Bureau 2020 relationship file, 118th Congress districts (Florida 2022 plan) to counties: https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/rel2020/cd-sld/tab20_cd11820_county20_natl.txt. Percent is the share of county land area in the district.
- House: https://www.flhouse.gov/Sections/Representatives/representatives.aspx (2024-2026 term, fetched 2026-09-17). Senate: https://www.flsenate.gov/Senators/ (2024-2026 term, fetched 2026-09-17). Even-numbered Senate districts are on the 2026 ballot per the Division of Elections candidate list.
- Judicial circuits: s. 26.021, Fla. Stat. Appellate districts: ss. 35.02-35.044, Fla. Stat. (as amended by ch. 2022-163, effective Jan. 1, 2023). Fetched from leg.state.fl.us 2026-09-17.
- Florida Division of Elections supervisor directory, https://dos.elections.myflorida.com/supervisors/countyInfo.asp?county=<code>, fetched 2026-09-17. The state directory can lag local changes (for Sumter it still lists the previous supervisor); the county website is authoritative.