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Welcome to VoxPopuli's Municipal Elections Guide! On the following pages you will find what you need to vote for commissioner in Ocoee's District 4 and to vote on three amendments to the city charter. By the way, those amendments affect everyone in the city, not just District 4, so give them a read — we break down what they're all about. Just click the Ballot Amendment button. Then go vote. If you live in Windermere, we've got you covered too with everything you need to make your choice for three open seats on town council.
A quick word about how we put together our voting guides here at VoxPopuli: We do not believe in sending out candidate questionnaires. Seriously, who knows who's filling those out? We know readers want to hear from candidates, so we interview every candidate ourselves. Every candidate is background-checked and we fact-check what they tell us to the best of our ability. As President Ronald Reagan used to say, "Trust but verify."
Municipal elections are typically decided by the tiniest of margins so if there's any time that your vote directly makes a difference, it's in local elections.
Get in electors. We're going voting.
Voting by mail makes casting a ballot in the March 11 municipal election easy and convenient. But first, you need to REQUEST YOUR MAIL-IN BALLOT by 5 p.m. on FEB. 27
All vote-by-mail requests now expire after each federal election cycle, so if you had a vote-by-mail ballot for the 2024 elections, you will need to request another one. To request your ballot, call the Orange County Supervisor of Elections office at 407-836-VOTE, visit the OCSE site, or download and complete the Vote-By Mail Written Request Form (DS-DE 160) and either mail it back or drop it off at the OCSE office.
Once you make your request, you'll receive your ballot in the mail. You can also pick up a mail-in ballot yourself or you can designate someone to pick it up for you. Find designee pick-up forms and affidavits at OCSE.
Once you complete your ballot, return it to the Supervisor of Elections Office at 119 Kaley Street in Orlando. Your ballot needs to be there by 7 p.m. on MARCH 11 for it to be counted. Remember to sign the envelop.
Then, sign up for BallotTrax to receive email or text updates about the status of your ballot from printing to mail-out to acceptance.
Signatures can change because of age, injury, arthritis. It’s easy to update your signature with a new voter registration application. Mismatched signatures are one of the main reasons that mail-in ballots don't get counted. Update yours here to ensure your vote counts. Mail-in ballots with missing signatures on the outside envelop also won’t don’t get counted. Fortunately, voters have two days after the election to “cure” their ballots with this affidavit.
Early voting will take place March 3 to 7 daily, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Supervisor of Elections Office at 119 Kaley Street in Orlando.
If you are in line by 6 p.m., YOU CAN VOTE. You’ll need ID with a photo and signature. Accepted forms include: valid Florida driver’s license, U.S. passport, debit/credit card, student or military ID, public assistance ID, Florida firearms license. (If your ID only has a photo, bring a second one with an updated signature.) Early voting locations will have Spanish translators and ADA-compliant voting equipment for those who need it. For more information about early voting, visit the Orange County Supervisor of Elections website.
Completed mail-in ballots can be dropped off at the Supervisor of Elections Office at 119 Kaley Street in Orlando by 7 p.m. on March 11. On Election Day, mail ballots can only be dropped off at the OCSE office. You can designate someone to drop your mail-in ballot off for you. To avoid the appearance of “ballot harvesting,” designees are limited to two ballots with just one for a non-family member.
Returning citizens who have completed their sentences and paid all fines and fees or completed community service in lieu of payment can get their voting rights restored (except for those convicted of murder or felony sex offenses).
That said, voting eligibility can still be challenging to figure out as those who believed they were eligible to vote in the 2020 election only to be arrested by Gov. Ron DeSantis’s election police discovered. The Formerly Incarcerated Convicted People & Families Movement’s “Can I Vote?” tool may help returning citizens determine if they can vote in the 2025 elections.
