These Central Florida cities and towns will hold elections on March 19

ORLANDO, Fla. – March 19 is the Presidential Preference Primary for Republican voters in Florida. Only Republican voters can vote in Florida’s presidential primary (if you want to change your party affiliation so you can vote, you have until February 20. DETAILS HERE). There will not be a Democratic presidential primary.

However, nine Central Florida cities and towns are holding elections for local government seats. Those elections are open to all eligible voters. The majority of them are council or commission seat races. If you do have an election coming up, you should receive a notice from your county supervisor of elections with all the details, including where you can vote.

Here’s what we know about these elections.

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Flagler County

FLAGLER BEACH

The Flagler Beach mayoral seat was up for election, but only one candidate qualified: Patti King. King wins without opposition and will be sworn in on March 28.

There is one city commission seat up for grabs, with incumbent Commissioner Eric Cooley facing Bob Cunningham.

Everyone who residents in the city may vote in this race, regardless of party affiliation.

Early voting will also be available March 9-16, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. To learn about early voting locations, go to the Flagler County Supervisor of Elections website.

To vote on March 19, just visit your regular polling place between the hours of 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.

You can look up your voter information, see a sample ballot, request a vote-by-mail ballot and find your polling place HERE.

Orange County

In Orange County, early voting times have not yet been set for the March 19 election, but if you are eligible to vote in the upcoming election, you should get a sample ballot in the mail with all the information you need.

To vote on March 19, just visit your regular polling place between the hours of 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.

You can look up your voter information, see a sample ballot, request a vote-by-mail ballot and find your polling place by going to the Orange County Supervisor of Elections website.

Here are the cities with races happening on March 19:

APOPKA

Apopka has two city council elections, for seat 3 and seat 4, with commissioners serving four-year terms.

In City Council Seat 3, there are two candidates: Nadia Anderson and Darryl Richardson. Commissioner Kyle Becker is not running.

In City Council Seat 4, the candidates are incumbent Commissioner Nick Nesta and challenger Eric Mock.

Council seats are elected “at-large” which means all registered voters in Apopka can vote in this election.

EATONVILLE

The town of Eatonville has two council races on March 19.

In Council Seat 4, current Council Member Marlin Daniels is going up against Tarus Mack.

In Council Seat 5, current Council Member Wanda D. Randolph is running against Crystal Short-Bertrand.

Council members serve four-year terms.

Eatonville also has six ballot questions for voters that deal with election issues, confirming mayoral appointments, and other issues. Scroll down to the end of the story to see the six ballot questions.

EDGEWOOD

In the city of Edgewood, there were two City Council seats up for election because of resignations. However, only one candidate qualified for Seat 1, Beth Steele, so they were elected without opposition. There were no qualified candidates for Seat 2, according to the city clerk.

Because of this, the seat will be filled by appointment, instead of an election. The city clerk tells News 6 that Mayor John Dowless is talking to people in the community to find someone to fill the seat.

The city of Edgewood will have nine charter amendments, however, that voters will need to approve, related to the city budget, to contracts, and to elections (should ties in a city election be decided by a coin flip?). You can see all of the amendments on the City of Edgewood website.

MAITLAND

Only one person qualified to run for the mayoral race in Maitland: John P. Lowndes. The city says Lowndes is therefore elected without opposition. He’ll take the oath of office on May 13.

There is also a ballot question for Maitland voters, asking whether the city should issue bonds to finance a new public library, as well as make improvements to Quinn Strong Park. Read the ballot language on the Maitland website.

OAKLAND

The Town of Oakland has a race for mayor. Commission member Salvador Ramos is running against Shane Taylor for the seat.

There were elections planned for Commission Seats 2 and 3, however, only one candidate qualified for Seat 2, Town Commission member Michael Satterfield, and he was elected unopposed.

No one qualified for Commission Seat 3. Town Clerk Elise Hui tells News 6 that according to the town charter, the commission will appoint someone to fill Seat 3 for a two-year term sometime after March 12.

OCOEE

The city of Ocoee is holding an election to fill City Council Seat 4.

The seat was vacated last year by Commissioner George Oliver III to run for mayor. When he lost that race, he filed to run for the seat again in a special election initially set for June 2023. When the election was moved to March 19, 2024, the city barred Oliver from running for the seat again. Oliver sued the city, and a judge ruled that Oliver could run.

Oliver is running against Nate Robertson. the winner will serve until March 11, 2025.

Voters in Ocoee will also be asked to vote on 13 charter amendment ballot questions. The city is asking voters to make several changes on issues ranging from candidate qualifications to salaries of the city commission. Voters can read all the ballot questions and their explanations on the city of Ocoee website.

WINTER GARDEN

In Winter Garden, two city commission seats are up for election. For City Commission District 2, there are three candidates: Danny “DJ” Culberson, Jr., Iliana R. Jones and incumbent Ron Mueller.

For City Commission District 3, there are two candidates: Chloe Johnson and Karen McNeil.

There was supposed to be an election for District 4, but incumbent Colin Sharman was the only candidate who qualified and he has been elected without opposition.

WINTER PARK

Winter Park has elections for mayor and City Commission Seat 2. In the mayoral race, current Commissioner Sheila DeCiccio is running against candidate Michael Cameron. They’re running to replace Mayor Phil Anderson.

For Commission Seat 2, there are three candidates: Jason Johnson, Stockton Reeves and Craig Russell. DeCiccio, who is running for mayor, is the Seat 2 commissioner right now.

[BELOW: EATONVILLE BALLOT QUESTIONS]

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