2026 Voter Guide: Hernando County

Elections

Oct 10

Part of our Tampa Bay Voter Guide 2026. Your county Supervisor of Elections is the official source; when in doubt, check with them. Information current as of Oct. 11, 2026.

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026. Polls are open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and anyone in line at 7 p.m. can vote. On Election Day you must vote at your assigned precinct; during early voting you can use any early voting site in your county. Bring a current photo ID with a signature.

Your elections office

Supervisor of Elections: Denise LaVancher
Website: hernandovotes.gov
Phone: 352-754-4125
Office: 16264 Spring Hill Drive, Brooksville; branch office at 7443 Forest Oaks Blvd., Spring Hill

Early voting

Thu., Oct. 22 through Sat., Oct. 31, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Five sites:

Forest Oaks Elections Office, 7443 Forest Oaks Blvd., Spring Hill
Spring Hill Library, 9220 Spring Hill Drive
South Brooksville Community Center, 601 E. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Brooksville
East Hernando Library, 6457 Windmere Road, Brooksville
Hernando County Utilities Department, 15365 Cortez Blvd., Brooksville

Voting by mail

The deadline to request a mail ballot is 5 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 22. Requests from 2024 have expired, so if you haven't asked for a 2026 ballot, you need to. Your ballot must reach the Supervisor of Elections by 7 p.m. Nov. 3. A postmark is not enough, and mail ballots cannot be dropped off at Election Day polling places. If your signature is missing or doesn't match, you have until 5 p.m. Nov. 5 to fix it with a cure affidavit.

Request a ballot at hernandovotes.gov or by calling 352-754-4125. Hernando mail ballots need return postage. You can skip the stamp by using a secure ballot intake station: at the Brooksville office (weekdays 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.), the Forest Oaks office, or any early voting site during early voting hours.

Your sample ballot

Use the Voter Lookup Tool for your sample ballot.

On every Florida ballot

Governor: Byron Donalds (R), with running mate Bryan Avila, vs. David Jolly (D), with running mate Gwen Graham, plus several no-party and Libertarian candidates. Gov. Ron DeSantis is term-limited.
U.S. Senate (special election): Sen. Ashley Moody (R) vs. state Rep. Angie Nixon (D), plus no-party candidates. The winner serves the last two years of Marco Rubio's term.
Attorney General: James Uthmeier (R, incumbent) vs. José Javier Rodríguez (D).
Chief Financial Officer: Blaise Ingoglia (R, incumbent) vs. Annette Taddeo (D).
Agriculture Commissioner: Wilton Simpson (R, incumbent) vs. Joey Mendoza Atkins (D).
Amendments 1, 2 and 3, all placed on the ballot by the Legislature. Each needs 60% yes to pass. What each amendment does.
Merit retention: Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice Carlos Muñiz, plus appeals court judges for your district.

Local races and questions in Hernando County

U.S. House

District 15: Rep. Laurel Lee (R) vs. Robert People (D).

Florida House

District 52: Rep. Samantha Scott (R) vs. Pamala Kaye Bivins (D).
District 53: Brian Hawkins (R) vs. Tony Claude (D) vs. Christopher Anger (Constitution).

County Commission

District 4: Jeff Holcomb (R) faces write-in candidate Donald Bigelow. Kathryn Birren won District 2 in August.

School Board (runoff)

District 5: Board member Susan Duval vs. Kara Champion. They finished three votes apart in August.

Ballot question

Half-cent sales tax for public safety: a one-half cent sales surtax for law enforcement and public safety, shared by the county and the City of Brooksville, with citizen oversight.

Brooksville voters also choose City Council Seat 1 (Betty Erhard vs. Robert D. Watson) and Seat 4 (Noah Hodges vs. Jennifer McCoskrie).

Sources

How we reported this: compiled Oct. 10, 2026, from the Hernando County Supervisor of Elections, the Florida Division of Elections and the news reports linked above, with AI research help. Candidate lists from primary results can change; your sample ballot is final. Spot an error? Tell us.

Joseph Jackson