Supervisor of elections
| Elections in Florida |
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The county supervisor of elections (SOE) is a Florida constitutional officer and countywide elected official.[1]
Each county Supervisor of Elections Office, headed by the supervisor, oversees all public elections and political campaign regulations in the county on behalf of the secretary of state of Florida and the Florida Department of State through the Florida Division of Elections.[2] The supervisor is elected every four years, coinciding with presidential elections, by the voters of the county in partisan elections.[3][4][5] In the event of the death, resignation, or removal from office of a supervisor of elections, the governor of Florida is empowered to fill the vacancy until the next regularly scheduled election.[6][7][8]
The role of SOE gained national attention during the 2000 United States presidential election recount in Florida and for the Volusia error incident.[9][10] In 2007, some county supervisors complained their special elections were underfunded.[11]
Duties and responsibilities
[edit]The duties, as enumerated in the Florida Statutes, include:[12][13][14]
- Conduct all public elections in the county
- Register voters and issue voter information cards
- Remove voters from the registered voter rolls who no longer live in Florida, are deceased, or for any other reason are no longer eligible to vote in Florida
- Change information on registered voter rolls when a change request is received (e.g., name, address, party affiliation)
- Send advance notice of election to voters who are overseas, in the military, or who request notification
- Accept mail ballot requests and send, receive and verify mail ballots
- Qualify candidates for county offices
- Receive candidate campaign finance reports for county offices and make them available to the public
- Receive financial disclosure reports from elected county officials and make them available to the public
- Maintain election equipment
- Hire and train poll workers
- Acquire and equip polling places
- Maintain statistics on election results, voting history and voter registration
- Verify petition signatures for initiative petitions and candidate qualifying petitions
- Maintain precinct information, including a listing of streets and parts of streets that are in each precinct
List of Florida supervisors of elections
[edit]
The following is a partial list from Florida's 67 counties, of incumbent (bolded) and former Florida supervisors of elections. A full list of current supervisors by county[15] is maintained by the Florida Division of Elections[16] as well as Florida Supervisors of Elections, Inc., a professional membership organization founded in 1964 to help coordinate continuing education election procedures, legal requirements and evolving voting technology for state elections supervisors.[17]
| Name | County |
|---|---|
| Janet Adkins (since 2021)[18] | Nassau County |
| Chris Anderson (2019–2024)[19] | Seminole County |
| Melony Bell (since 2025)[20] | Polk County |
| Mike Bennett (2012–2024)[21] | Manatee County |
| Kurt S. Browning (1980–2006) | Pasco County |
| Susan Bucher (2009–2019)[22] | Palm Beach County |
| Brian E. Corley (since 2007)[23] | Pasco County |
| Karen Castor Dentel (since 2025)[24] | Orange County |
| Mark Earley (since 2017)[25] | Leon County |
| Lori Edwards (2000–2025)[26] | Polk County |
| Mike Ertel (2005–2019)[27] | Seminole County |
| Scott Farrington (since 2025)[28] | Manatee County |
| Alina Garcia (since 2025)[29] | Miami-Dade County |
| Alan Hays (since 2017)[30] | Lake County |
| Jerry Holland (2006–2015 & since 2024)[31] | Duval County |
| Mike Hogan (2015–2023)[32][33] | Duval County |
| Pam Iorio (1993–2003)[34][35] | Hillsborough County |
| Craig Latimer (since 2013)[36] | Hillsborough County |
| Theresa LePore (1996–2005)[37] | Palm Beach County |
| Amy Pennock (since 2025)[38] | Seminole County |
| Ion Sancho (1988–2017)[39] | Leon County |
| Wendy Sartory Link (since 2019)[40] | Palm Beach County |
| James Satcher (2024–2025)[28] | Manatee County |
| Joe Scott (since 2020)[41] | Broward County |
| Jim Sebesta (1970–1974)[42] | Hillsborough County |
| Brenda Snipes (2003–2019)[43] | Broward County |
| Christina White (2015–2025)[29] | Miami-Dade County |
See also
[edit]External links
[edit]- Florida Division of Elections government website
- Florida Supervisors of Elections professional membership organization
References
[edit]- ↑ "Florida Statues, Section 3142". flsenate.gov. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
- ↑ Perrine, Corey (25 July 2024). "Voting machines publicly tested at Duval County Supervisor of Elections Office". The Florida Times-Union. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
- ↑ "The 2024 Florida Statutes, Chapter 98". leg.state.fl.us. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
- ↑ "Herald endorsement: Miami-Dade County supervisor of elections". Miami Herald. 2 November 2024. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
- ↑ "Florida supervisor of elections". ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
- ↑ "Governor Ron DeSantis Appoints Nina Ward as Bay County Supervisor of Elections". flgov.com. 3 May 2024. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
- ↑ Bridges, C. A. (5 March 2024). "DeSantis appoints Disney district head to a Florida supervisor of elections job. Who is Glen Gilzean?". Tallahassee Democrat. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
- ↑ McManus, Tracey (16 July 2024). "Pinellas supervisor race latest in Florida to feature elections denier". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
- ↑ Palast, Gregory (4 December 2000). "Florida's flawed "voter-cleansing" program". Salon.com. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
- ↑ Van Natta Jr, Don; Canedy, Dana (9 November 2000). "THE 2000 ELECTIONS: THE PALM BEACH BALLOT; Florida Democrats Say Ballot's Design Hurt Gore". The New York Times. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
- ↑ Cotterell, Bill (11 May 2007). "Counties: Special elections underfunded". Tallahassee Democrat. pp. 6A. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
- ↑ "What Does the Supervisor of Elections Do?". votebrevard.gov. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
- ↑ Gardner, Sheldon (23 April 2024). "Facing leaks, water damage, supervisor of elections will get new space for about $8.8M". The Daytona Beach News-Journal. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
- ↑ Gillespie, Ryan (12 December 2024). "After warning of fiscal doom, Orange elections chief Gilzean manages to pay his workers". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
- ↑ "Find Your County's Supervisor of Elections". Florida Supervisors of Elections, Inc. Retrieved 8 July 2026.
- ↑ "Contact Your Supervisor of Elections". Florida Department of State, Florida Division of Elections. Retrieved 8 July 2026.
- ↑ "990 Scout - Florida Supervisors of Elections INC". Philanthropy.org. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
- ↑ "Candidate profiles: Supervisor of Elections". News Leader. 18 July 2024. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
- ↑ "Audit questions former Seminole elections chief's use of $161K in public funds". Fox 35 Orlando. 12 August 2025. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
- ↑ Friedman, Barry; Moore, Kimberly C.; Glover, Cindy (5 November 2024). "Melony Bell Unseats Polk Elections Supervisor Lori Edwards". LkldNow. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
- ↑ Ogles, Jacob (23 January 2024). "Mike Bennett to step down early as Manatee Elections Supervisor". Florida Politics. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
- ↑ "Susan Bucher resigns after being suspended by Gov. DeSantis". WPBF. 28 January 2019. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
- ↑ Ferrante, Julia (19 January 2007). "Crist Selects Supervisor of Elections". The Tampa Tribune – The Pasco Tribune. p. 1. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
- ↑ Russon, Gabrielle (5 November 2024). "Karen Castor Dentel wins open Orange County Supervisor of Elections job". Florida Politics. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
- ↑ Lisch, Erin (8 November 2016). "Earley wins Leon County Supervisor of Elections race". WCTV. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
- ↑ White, Gary (20 December 2024). "Departing Polk County election supervisor led office through 24 years of changes". Lakeland Ledger. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
- ↑ "Florida secretary of state resigns after photos of him in blackface emerge". PBS. 24 January 2019. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
- 1 2 Dwyer, Lesley (30 April 2026). "Elections forge ahead with revamped Supervisor of Elections office". Your Observer. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
- 1 2 Scheckner, Jesse (5 November 2024). "Alina Garcia wins historic race for Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections". Florida Politics. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
- ↑ Swisher, Skyler (20 August 2024). "Lake voting chief Alan Hays defeats Trump election denier". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
- ↑ Bauerlein, David (28 July 2025). "Supervisor of Elections Jerry Holland is latest Republican exploring run for mayor". Jacksonville Florida Times-Union. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
- ↑ "Mike Hogan (Florida)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
- ↑ Jones, Rich (17 May 2023). "DUVAL ELECTION: Full results for Jacksonville Mayor, City Council, more". 96.9 The Eagle. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
- ↑ Knight, Ken (6 January 1993). "Iorio sworn in as supervisor of elections". The Tampa Tribune. p. 21. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
- ↑ March, William (5 March 2003). "Tampa Decides - Sanchez Racing Against Time To Catch Up". The Tampa Tribune. p. 9. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
- ↑ Silcox, Fallon (7 January 2025). "Hillsborough Supervisor of Elections is sworn in at grandson's school". Spectrum News. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
- ↑ "Butterfly ballot inventor loses re-election bid". NBC News. 1 September 2004. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
- ↑ Russon, Gabrielle (28 December 2018). "Challenger Amy Pennock clinches Republican Primary for Seminole Elections Chief, ousts incumbent". Florida Politics. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
- ↑ Call, James (1 January 2017). "Advocate for voters steps aside". Tallahassee Democrat. pp. 2A. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
- ↑ Geggis, Anne (5 November 2024). "Wendy Sartory Link wins a second term as the county's elections chief". The Palm Beach Post. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
- ↑ Muñoz, Caitie (21 August 2020). "Joe Scott Wins Broward's Democratic Primary For Supervisor Of Elections". WLRN. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
- ↑ Meacham, Andrew (30 January 2024). "Former state Sen. Jim Sebesta dies at 88". Florida Politics. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
- ↑ Good, Ghris (19 November 2018). "After messy Florida recount, Broward election official Brenda Snipes resigns". ABC News. Retrieved 7 July 2026.