Polk County ballot — November 3, 2026
Official candidate line-up from the Florida Division of Elections (downloaded October 30, 2026), plus the districts that cover Polk 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)
Governor & Lieutenant Governor
Constitutional amendments 1, 2 and 3
Official language, what Yes and No mean, and who supports and opposes each.
Congress
U.S. House, District 9 (about 3.4% of the county's land area)
- Dan Green Republican
- Darren Soto Democratic
U.S. House, District 11 (about 14.8% of the county's land area)
- Joe Strada Republican
- James Pericola Democratic
- Ralph Groves Libertarian
U.S. House, District 15 (about 6.4% of the county's land area)
- Laurel Lee Republican
- Robert People Democratic
- Write-in line (1 qualified write-in candidate: Angie Boone; write-in names are not printed on the ballot)
U.S. House, District 18 (about 75.3% of the county's land area)
- Scott Franklin Republican
- Curtis Gibson Democratic
- Deva Simmons No Party Affiliation
Florida Legislature
Florida Senate, District 12 (part of the county)
Covers: Part of Polk
- Colleen Burton Republican
- Alfred Reynolds Democratic
Florida Senate, District 27 (part of the county)
Not on the 2026 ballot: odd-numbered Senate districts are next up in 2028.
Florida House, District 48 (part of the county)
Covers: Part of Polk
- Jonathan Albert Republican
- Alethea Pugh Democratic
Florida House, District 49 (part of the county)
Covers: Part of Polk
- Jennifer Kincart Jonsson Republican
- Robert Anzalone Democratic
Florida House, District 50 (part of the county)
Covers: Part of Polk
- Jennifer Canady Republican
- Ricky Santiago Democratic
- Jarvis Washington No Party Affiliation
Florida House, District 51 (part of the county)
Covers: Part of Polk
- Hilary Holley Republican
- Octavio E. Hernandez Democratic
Judges
Sixth District Court of Appeal — merit retention
Polk 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).
Polk County offices
Board of County Commissioners
District 2
Rick Wilson Republican Elected without opposition — no vote held
District 4
- Omar Arroyo Republican
- Write-in line (1 qualified write-in candidate: Elisha Gresham; write-in names are not printed on the ballot)
School Board
District 3
- Victor Sims Nonpartisan
- Kate Wallace Nonpartisan
District 5
Kay Fields Nonpartisan Elected without opposition — no vote held
District 6
Justin Sharpless Nonpartisan Elected without opposition — no vote held
District 7
Lisa Miller Nonpartisan Elected without opposition — no vote held
County Judge
Group 7
David E. Stamey Jr. Nonpartisan Elected without opposition — no vote held
"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 (Water Control Districts, Community Development District) — contested seats and unopposed members
Water Control Districts
Seat 1
Kevin Henne Nonpartisan Elected without opposition — no vote held
Seat 3
Carter J. Adams Nonpartisan Elected without opposition — no vote held
Community Development District
Seat 1
- Roy E. Aull Nonpartisan
- Joseph Bullins Nonpartisan Unopposed
- Deborah Galbraith Nonpartisan Unopposed
- Peggy E Gregory Nonpartisan Unopposed
- Alexandra Hietala Nonpartisan Unopposed
- Michael E. Lee Nonpartisan
- Tony Reed Nonpartisan
- Alisa Romero Nonpartisan Unopposed
- Peter Lewis Savastano Nonpartisan Unopposed
- Michael C. Schouten Nonpartisan
Seat 2
- Kristen Anderson Nonpartisan Unopposed
- Roy D LaRue Nonpartisan Unopposed
- Debby Landgrebe Nonpartisan
- Jose Luis Martinez Nonpartisan Unopposed
- Erica F Miro Nonpartisan Unopposed
- Deborah J. Murray Nonpartisan
- Anita Nelson Nonpartisan Unopposed
Seat 3
- Jon R Cameron Nonpartisan Unopposed
- Jose David Cortez Nonpartisan Unopposed
- Daniel Davis Nonpartisan
- Carol Grimaldi Nonpartisan Unopposed
- Gregory M Jones Nonpartisan Unopposed
- Angela Martinez Nonpartisan Unopposed
- Brian Meert Nonpartisan Unopposed
- Frank J. Svarczkopf Nonpartisan
- Jeffrey A Walters Nonpartisan Unopposed
- Cheryl Winchester Nonpartisan
- Bob Zelazny Nonpartisan
Seat 4
- Joseph "Jay" Bledsoe Nonpartisan Unopposed
- Jorge Ramiro Garbalosa Nonpartisan Unopposed
- John Gierlach Nonpartisan Unopposed
- Kevin R. Marsh Nonpartisan
- Violet Melendez Nonpartisan
- Kelly Mercado Nonpartisan Unopposed
- Jose Montalvo Nonpartisan Unopposed
- Jonathan Ridpath Nonpartisan
- Louis Smith Nonpartisan Unopposed
- Julie Steddom Nonpartisan
- Janice Stradley Nonpartisan Unopposed
Seat 5
- Gregory Edwards Nonpartisan Unopposed
- Tonya Lockamy Nonpartisan Unopposed
- William Nolen Nonpartisan Unopposed
- Engleburt Perez Nonpartisan Unopposed
- Gloria Siegel Nonpartisan Unopposed
- George Thomas Nonpartisan Unopposed
Polk County Supervisor of Elections
- Supervisor
- Melony Bell
- Phone
- 863-534-5888
- Address
- 250 S. Broadway Avenue Bartow, FL 33830 PO Box 1460 Bartow, FL 33831 -1460
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.
Early voting in Polk County
Dates: Mon Oct 19 – Sat Oct 31, 2026 · Hours: 9 a.m.–6 p.m. · 11 sites
Early voting sites and hours ↗
Official filing with the state: 11 early-voting sites, open 13 days. Sites each have a drop box for mail ballots. Source: Florida Division of Elections, early voting and secure ballot intake station locations for the Nov. 3, 2026 general election (per-county filings published Oct. 2, 2026): https://dos.fl.gov/elections/for-voters/voting/early-voting-and-secure-ballot-intake-stations/
Any early-voting site in your county can be used; on Election Day you must vote at your assigned precinct. Mail ballots can be returned to secure intake stations at early-voting sites during voting hours.
Sources for this page
- Florida Division of Elections Candidate Tracking System, 20261103-GEN, state and local candidate extracts downloaded 2026-10-27 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.