2026 Voter Guide: Manatee 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: Scott Farrington
Website: votemanatee.gov
Phone: 941-741-3823
Office: 600 301 Blvd. W., Suite 108, Bradenton

Early voting

Mon., Oct. 19 through Sun., Nov. 1, 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. Use any site:

Supervisor of Elections office, Bradenton
Palmetto Library
Rocky Bluff Library
Lakewood Ranch Town Hall
G.T. Bray Park
Lakewood Ranch Library
Braden River Library
Parrish Fire District Station 2

Check the live site list before you go.

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 mail ballot online. Drop it at a secure ballot intake station at the main office (weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.) or any early voting site during early voting.

Your sample ballot

See the countywide 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 Manatee County

U.S. House

District 16: Sydney Gruters (R) vs. Kelly Kirschner (D) vs. Mark Davis (no party). Read our Spotlight on Mark Davis.

County Commission

District 1: Liz Arnold (R) vs. Sari Lindroos-Valimaki (D), plus write-in Jack May.
District 2: Commissioner Amanda Ballard (R) vs. Charles B. Smith Sr. (D).
District 4: Commissioner Mike Rahn (R) vs. write-in Allison S. Sneed.
District 6 (countywide): Tara Poulton (R) vs. Reggie Bellamy (D).

School Board

District 2: Sharon Jefferson vs. Cindy Spray.
District 5: Camden "Cam" Bedinghaus vs. Jonathan Mullis.

Ballot questions

County land and water bonds: up to $75 million in bonds, backed by up to 0.16 mill, for water quality, preventing overdevelopment and buying natural lands and preserves.
Parrish Fire District: a $68 flat annual fire assessment.
Bradenton: removing the mayor's tie-breaking vote and council presidency, and three-consecutive-term limits for mayor and council starting in 2028.
Holmes Beach and Palmetto: local charter and land questions.

Bradenton, Holmes Beach and Palmetto voters also have city races, including Holmes Beach mayor (Dan Diggins vs. David Zaccagnino).

Sources

How we reported this: compiled Oct. 10, 2026, from the Manatee 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