With Collier County’s primary elections behind us, the general elections are just around the corner. The Supervisor of Elections will begin to send Vote-By-Mail ballots to voters who requested them beginning September 26. The deadline to register to vote in November is October 7. Early voting starts on October 21, and Election Day is November 5.
In the weeks ahead, I will do a deep dive into nearly every candidate and issue that will be on a Collier voter’s ballot and share what I learn in a Sparker’s Soapbox post. If you are a subscriber, you will receive an email each time I publish a new post. Sign up now! – it’s FREE.
In This Post
In this post, you’ll get a look at what will be on the Collier County ballot and find links to websites for the candidates and issues.
I close this post with a few things you should do now to begin to prepare.
Federal Offices on the Ballot
U.S. Senators serve six-year terms of office; members of the U.S. House of Representatives run for reelection every two years.
This year, one of Florida’s two U.S. Senators and all 29 of its members of the U.S. House will be on the ballot.
In addition, voters nationwide will elect the next U.S. President. Since there is more than enough publicly available information to help you cast an informed vote, I will not be writing about the candidates in the presidential race.
U.S. Senator
All Florida voters elect the state’s two U.S. Senators. This year, incumbent Republican Senator Rick Scott is seeking reelection to a second term.
The candidates are:
- Feena Bonoan – Libertarian Party of Florida (LPF)
- Ben Everidge – No Party Affiliation (NPA)
- Howard Knepper – Write-In (WRI)
- Debbie Mucarsel-Powell – Democrat (DEM)
- Tuan TQ Nguyen – No Party Affiliation (NPA)
- Rick Scott – Republican (REP) (Incumbent)
U.S. House
Each U.S. Representative is elected by the residents of their district. Collier County voters live in one of three congressional districts. Find your congressional district.
The candidates are:
- District 18:
- Scott Franklin – REP (Incumbent)
- Andrea Doria Kale – DEM
- District 19:
- Byron Donalds – REP (Incumbent)
- Kari Lerner – DEM
- District 26:
- Joey Atkins – DEM
- Mario Diaz-Balart – REP (Incumbent)
State Offices on the Ballot
State Legislature
Each member of the Florida House of Representatives and Florida Senate is elected by residents of their district. Representatives serve two-year terms; Senators serve four-year terms.
Learn about the Florida House and Senate in my primer on The Legislative Branch of Florida’s Government.
Collier County’s current senator was reelected in 2022, so Collier voters will not have a state Senate race on the 2024 ballot.
Florida House
The Florida House races on Collier voters’ ballots are:
- District 80:
- Adam Botana – REP (Incumbent)
- Mitchel Schlayer – DEM
- Patrick Post – WRI
- District 81:
- Yvette Benarroch – REP
- Charles “Chuck” Work – DEM
- District 82:
- Lauren Melo – REP (Incumbent)
- Arthur Oslund – DEM
State Judiciary
Learn about Florida’s court system and the judicial merit retention process in my primer on The Judicial Branch of Florida’s Government.
Supreme Court – Judicial Merit Retention
All Florida voters vote on the merit retention of Supreme Court justices.
Two Supreme Court justices are seeking merit retention in November. They are:
Sixth District Court of Appeals – Judicial Merit Retention
Voters in each of Florida’s six Appeals Court districts also vote on the merit retention of the judges who serve in its courts.
Collier County is one of ten counties in Florida’s Sixth Appellate District. Five judges in that District will be on the ballot of Collier County voters.
The judges seeking merit retention in November are:
County Offices on the Ballot
Board of County Commissioners
Each member of the Collier County Board of County Commissioners is elected by residents of their district. Find your county commission district.
Learn more in my primer on The Collier County Board of County Commissioners.
The District 2 and 4 commissioners were elected in 2022. District 5 incumbent Commissioner Bill McDaniel was reelected in a universal primary in August. Commission Districts 1 and 3 will be elected in November.
- Commissioner District 1
- Michaela Kendall – WRI
- Rick LoCastro – REP (Incumbent)
- Commissioner District 3
- Burt Saunders – REP (Incumbent)
- Richard Conover – NPA
Constitutional Officers
Constitutional officers are elected by all voters countywide. They are elected in presidential election years and serve four-year terms of office.
Learn more in my primer on The Collier County Constitutional Officers.
Three of Collier County’s five incumbent constitutional officers – Sheriff Kevin Rambost, Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller Crystal Kinzel, and Tax Collector Rob Stoneburner – ran uncontested for another term so they were automatically reelected.
After winning a closed Republican primary, incumbent Supervisor of Elections Melissa Blazier was also automatically reelected after her only general election challenger, a write-in candidate, withdrew from the race on Sep. 4.
Voters WILL not see the Supervisor of Elections race on their ballot because the write-in candidate withdrew prior to ballot production.
Most recently, in the race for Property Appraiser, Vickie Downs was automatically elected after the write-in candidate in that race also withdrew.
Voters WILL see the Property Appraiser race on their ballot because the write-in candidate withdrew AFTER ballot production. A vote cast in this race will not change the outcome; the remaining candidate is deemed by law to be elected for that race.
Collier Mosquito Control District Commissioners
Each of the five members of the Collier Mosquito Control District Board of Commissioners is elected by residents of the District. View the District map.
The elections are nonpartisan; candidates run without declaring a party affiliation and serve for staggered four-year terms. Learn about the Collier Mosquito Control District here.
Of the two seats up for election this year, one candidate was uncontested so he was automatically elected.
The candidates for the contested Seat 5 are:
- Russell Burland (Incumbent)
- Lou Tinel
Fire Rescue District Commissioners
Each member of unincorporated Collier County’s three Fire Rescue District Commission Boards is elected by voters who live in their District. Elections are nonpartisan; candidates run without declaring a party affiliation and serve staggered four-year terms.
Learn about how Collier County provides fire and rescue services in my primer on Fire and Emergency Medical Services in Collier County.
Find your fire district; check the box on the left side of the map to see the fire district boundary overlay. Note that the East Naples and Golden Gate fire districts were merged after voter approval in 2014.
Each of the candidates running for seats on the Immokalee Fire Control Board of Commissioners and North Collier Fire Control and Rescue Board of Commissioners was uncontested and automatically elected.
Voters who live in the Greater Naples Fire Rescue District will elect two of the five members of that District’s board in November.
Greater Naples Fire Rescue District Commissioners
- Seat 2 (the former East Naples Fire District)
- Stanley A Bunner, Jr.
- Al Duffy (Incumbent)
- Wayne J. Martin
- Seat 5 (the former Golden Gate Fire District)
- Dominick P. Biondo (Incumbent)
- Russell Tuff
Marco Island City Council
Voters who live in the City of Marco Island will elect representatives to four of the seven seats on the Marco Island City Council. There are four-year staggered terms of office, the elections are nonpartisan, and the top four vote-getters will win.
Learn more about the Marco Island City Council here.
The candidates are:
- Richard Blonna (Incumbent)
- Tamara Goehler
- Stephen Gray
- Deb Henry
- Becky Irwin (Incumbent)
- Bonita Schwan
Jill Kiley, who had also qualified to run, withdrew from the race on Sept. 9, citing illness in the family.
Florida Constitutional Amendments
Six proposed amendments to Florida’s Constitution are on the ballot in November.
Learn about how Florida’s Constitution may be amended at the Florida Division of Elections.
All Florida voters will vote on the following proposals:
- Amendment 1 – Partisan Election of Members of District School Boards
- Amendment 2 – Right to Fish and Hunt
- Amendment 3 – Adult Personal Use of Marijuana
- Amendment 4 – Amendment to Limit Government Interference with Abortion
- Amendment 5 – Annual Adjustments to the Value of Certain Homestead Exemptions
- Amendment 6 – Repeal of Public Campaign Financing Requirement
Approval by at least sixty percent of the votes cast is required for a measure to pass.
Collier County School District Referendum
All Collier County voters will vote in November on a referendum titled “Continue Tax-Neutral Flexible Funding for Collier County Public Schools.”
Approval by at least fifty percent of the votes cast is required for the measure to pass.
Things to Do Now
I will be researching and sharing what I learn about each of the above ballot choices in the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, here are four things you can and should do now:
1. Make Any Changes to Your Voter Registration
The races that will be on your November ballot are solely a function of your residence address and which districts you live in. Unlike partisan primary elections, your party affiliation does not affect the general election, and you may vote for any candidate, regardless of the candidate’s party.
Check your voter information with the Supervisor of Elections and make any needed changes to your name or address. You can do this online at colliervotes.gov or by calling the Supervisor of Elections office at (239) 252-8683.
2. Update Your Signature
Make sure the way you sign your ballot matches what the Supervisor of Elections has on file. Consider updating your signature to avoid any possible delays, whether you vote in person or by mail.
You can download a voter registration application to update your voter signature or request one by calling the Supervisor of Elections office.
3. Request a Vote by Mail Ballot
Florida is a no-excuse-needed Vote-By-Mail state. Request a vote-by-mail (VBM) ballot if you will not be in town to vote in person, prefer the convenience of voting from home, or want to keep your options open.
The deadline for requesting a VBM ballot for the November elections is 5 p.m. on October 24.
IMPORTANT
The post office will not forward your vote-by-mail ballot, even if you’ve set up mail forwarding for all your mail. You must tell the Elections Office directly where to send your ballot.
Because of a recent change in Florida election law, VBM ballot requests are only good for one election cycle, and you must indicate which elections (March Presidential Preference Primary, August primary, and/or November general election) in that cycle you want them for.
If you think you have already requested a VBM ballot for the November general election but aren’t sure, check again!
4. Learn what will be on your ballot
Learn which races will be on your ballot. I’ve given you the information you need to do so above.
Seek out opportunities to meet the candidates and learn their positions on issues. Attend or watch a few candidate forums. As I learn of upcoming candidate forums, I’ll post them on my website’s Events Calendar.
Conclusion
Your vote is your best opportunity to influence the policy decisions that will affect you and your family in years to come.
I hope this post motivates you to think about which ballot decisions you’ll want to spend time researching before November.
Thanks for wanting to be a more informed voter!