Florida's springtime cycle: Tampa, Boca Raton, Jacksonville all gearing up for March elections
Spring is about one month away, but municipal elections in Florida are coming up quickly. We first told you in January about the dozens of municipal elections that will be held in the Sunshine State.
Now, Vote-By-Mail ballots are beginning to go out, and early voting for many races is just a couple of weeks away.
The first large-city election is the City of Tampa’s municipal election on March 7. There are multiple City Council seats up for election and four proposed amendments to the Tampa Charter. Early voting will take place Feb. 27 to March 5 in Tampa.
The City of Boca Raton will hold its election March 14. There were three open seats — Mayor, City Council Seat A and City Council Seat B — but all three will be unopposed races. There is one proposed Boca Raton Charter amendment on the ballot.
Jacksonville will hold its election on March 21. The race for Jacksonville Mayor includes 10 candidates, and all 19 City Council seats are up for election. Four constitutional offices are also on the ballot. Jacksonville’s election is a Unitary Election, which means all candidates appear on a single ballot with their party affiliation identified. All voters in each electorate are eligible to vote. If one candidate receives 50% + 1 vote in the First Election, that candidate is declared the winner. If no candidate receives 50% + 1 vote, the top two vote-getters move on to the May 16 General Election.
Early voting in Jacksonville’s election is March 6-19.
There are dozens of municipal elections taking place over the next few months, including the cities of Ocoee, Maitland, St. Pete Beach, Tarpon Springs, Bartow and Davenport. For a full list, go to the Florida Division of Elections website here.