MANATEE COUNTY, FL — Voters in Bradenton and across Manatee County will take to the polls on Tuesday, deciding governor, U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives, and state legislative races, along with local contests, in the Nov. 3 midterm election.
They will also have a say on state constitutional amendments and county charter referendums on Election Day.
Most Florida polling places are open on Election Day from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. EST, while some counties in the Panhandle are open until 8 p.m. EST because they're in the Central Time Zone. (Be sure to bring a photo ID with you.)
Find more information on how to vote, as well as candidates and issues on this year's ballot below.
Even before the polls open on Tuesday morning, about 40 percent of about 13.7 million registered voters in Florida have already cast their ballots, according to the University of Florida Election Lab.
Nearly 5.46 million voters in the state voted early, either in person (nearly 3.47 million) or by mail (about 1.99 million), according to the Election Lab.
About 2.06 million or 37.8 percent of registered Democrats and about 2.92 million or 40.2 percent of registered Republicans opted to vote early, data shows. About 1.2 million or 22 percent of independent voters also voted early.
In Manatee County, voter turnout was at 42.65 percent, with nearly 123,000 of eligible voters voting early, according to the Manatee County Supervisor of Elections office. About 50.5 percent (or 41.2 percent) voted by mail, while 58.8 percent (more than 72,000) voted in person.
About 49.6 percent of those who voted early were registered Republicans, just over 36 percent were Democrats and about 21 percent were independent voters.
Polling places across the county are open to registered voters from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. EST on Nov. 3. If you are in line at 7 p.m., you will be allowed to vote, but if you arrive at the polling place after 7 p.m., you will not be allowed to vote.
On Election Day, you may only vote in person at the polling place assigned to your district.
Before voting, you can review or update your voter registration information.
You can also find where you vote here.
In order to cast your ballot at the polls, you'll need to bring a valid and current photo and signature ID to your polling station.
Acceptable forms of ID in Florida include:
If your photo ID doesn't contain your signature, an additional ID with your signature is required.
Without proper identification, you may still vote with a provisional ballot, which will later be evaluated by a canvassing board for eligibility.
Voters are welcome to bring a sample ballot to the polling place marked with their choices so there are no delays in voting.
Manatee County voters will cast votes for candidates in multiple state and local races, and will also have a say in statewide and county issues in the Nov. 3 general election.
Find your personalized sample ballot here.
The following candidates and issues will be on the ballot. Voters will select one in each race unless noted otherwise.
Patch sent candidate questionnaires to those running for Manatee County Commission and School District of Manatee County seats, as well as the Bradenton City Council. The profiles of candidates who responded to our questionnaires are linked at their name; if a candidate name has no link, that means they didn't respond.
U.S. Senator
U.S House of Representatives, District 16
Governor and Lieutenant Governor
Attorney General
Chief Financial Officer
Commissioner of Agriculture
State Senator, District 20
State Senator, District 22
State Representative, District 70
State Representative, District 71
State Representative, District 72
Justice of the Supreme Court
Shall Justice Carlos G. Muniz of the Supreme Court be retained in office?
District Court of Appeal
Shall Justice Drew Atkinson of the Second District Court of Appeal be retained in office?
Shall Justice Morris Silberman of the Second District Court of Appeal be retained in office?
Shall Justice Daniel H. Sleet of the Second District Court of Appeal be retained in office?
Shall Justice Andrea Teves Smith of the Second District Court of Appeal be retained in office?
Board of County Commissioners, District 1
Board of County Commissioners, District 2
Board of County Commissioners, District 6, At Large
School Board, District 2
School Board, District 5
Ward 3
Ward 4
Mayor
Commissioner
Commissioner, Ward 2
Mosquito Control District, Group 1
East Manatee Fire Rescue, Seat 3
East Manatee Fire Rescue, Seat 5
Parrish Fire District, Seat 1
West Manatee Fire and Rescue, Seat 2
West Manatee Fire and Rescue, Seat 3
West Manatee Fire and Rescue, Seat 4
Copperstone CDD, Seat 1
Cross Creek CDD, Seat 2
Eagle Pointe CDD, Seat 1
Eagle Pointe CDD, Seat 3
Harrison Ranch CDD, Seat 1
Harrison Ranch CDD, Seat 2
Harrison Ranch CDD, Seat 3
Heritage Harbour North CDD, Seat 1
Lakewood Ranch CDD 2, Seat 5
Lakewood Ranch Stewardship District, Seat 3
Legends Bay CDD, Seat 3
Legends Bay CDD, Seat 5
Silverleaf CDD, Seat 1
Silverleaf CDD, Seat 4
Tara CDD, Seat 1
Tara CDD, Seat 5
Water Quality Protection, Overdevelopment Prevention, Natural Lands Preservation, and Public Preserves General Obligation Bond Referendum
To acquire, improve, maintain, and contribute to the acquisition of lands and other property interests to protect drinking water sources, water quality, wildlife habitat, natural and environmentally sensitive lands from overdevelopment and provide public preserves, shall Manatee County levy an additional 0.16 mill ad valorem tax and issue general obligation bonds not exceeding $75,000,000, maturing within 20 years, bearing interest not exceeding the legal rate, payable from ad valorem taxes, and provide annual public audits?
Remove Mayor's Tie Vote Right and Ex Officio President Designation; Add Mayor Not Council Member
Shall the Bradenton City Charter be amended to remove the Mayor's right to cast a vote in the event of a tie; and, to remove the designation of Mayor as "ex officio president of the Council" and add language to provide that the Mayor is not a member of the City Council.
Providing for Term Limits for the Mayor and City Council Members
Shall the Bradenton City Charter be amended to provide term limits for the Mayor and City Council. The terms shall be limited to three full, consecutive terms in the same office, beginning January 2028. A break in service of a minimum of two years after service of three full, consecutive terms in the same office is required before a mayor or council member can run again for the same office.
Referendum Vacating Alleyway
Shall the City vacate an unused and inaccessible ten -foot -wide alleyway bisecting the coastal residential property at 2902 Avenue East from north to south, where such alleyway shall be vacated in favor of the property owner for that property, where such alleyway is not directly connected to any public right -of -way, prior rights of way have already been vacated, and the City Commission approved such vacation by supermajority vote at public hearings?
Amendment to the City of Palmetto Charter to add a City boundary map
Shall the City of Palmetto Charter be amended and restated as described in Ordinance 2026 -02, amending the Charter to include a City boundary map?
Authorization to Increase Annual Special Assessments for Fire Protection Services
Shall the Parrish Fire District be authorized to increase its base rate of assessment to include an additional flat charge of $68.00 for each developed residential, commercial and industrial parcel, excluding vacant, acreage and golf course parcels, to fund additional personnel associated with changing the standard firefighter work schedule from 56 hours to 42 hours per week, consistent with the work-schedule policy encouraged under section 633.508(7)(c), Florida Statutes?
No. 1 - Constitutional Amendment Article II, Section 19 - Budget Stabilization Fund
Proposing an amendment to the State Constitution to increase the amount of funds that may be retained in the budget stabilization fund from 10% to 25% of general revenue collections, require the legislature to transfer the lesser of $750 million or the amount required to reach 25% of the general revenue collections each year unless certain conditions are met, and allow the legislature to withdraw funds for critical state needs.
No. 2 - Constitutional Amendment, Article VII, Section 3; Article XII - Exemption of Tangible Personal Property on Agricultural Land from Taxation
Proposing an amendment to the State Constitution to exempt tangible personal property habitually located or typically present on land classified as agricultural, used in the production of agricultural products or for agritourism activities, and owned by the landowner or leaseholder of the agricultural land from ad valorem taxation. If approved this amendment would first apply for tax years beginning January 1, 2027.
No. 3 - Constitutional Amendment Article VII, Sections 4, 6 and 9; Article XII - Increased Homestead Exemption; Lower Cap on Increases in Non-Homestead Property Assessments
This amendment increases the homestead exemption, for all non-school taxes, to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, and adjusts for inflation thereafter. It requires the Legislature to prescribe a uniform procedure for counties and municipalities, for their respective levies, to increase the homestead exemption up to full assessed value, and allows special districts, subject to referendum approval, to do the same.
Persons who are not Florida residents on December 31, 2026, will receive the existing homestead exemption upon qualifying for a homestead exemption, with the increased homestead exemption beginning with the fifth year of exemption, to the extent permitted by the U.S. Constitution.
This amendment reduces the annual cap on assessment increases for non-homestead properties from 10% to 5%.
This amendment requires counties and municipalities to use property taxes solely for public safety, education and schools, infrastructure, natural resources, bond debt service, retirement benefits for employees, and operations and administration. Other expenditures may be approved by county officers or county or municipal governing bodies unless prohibited by general law, notwithstanding Article VII, Section 9(a) of the Florida Constitution, which allows counties and municipalities to levy property taxes for their respective purposes.
This amendment takes effect January 1, 2027.
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