Manatee County 2022 Early Voting Guide: How To Vote, Candidates

MANATEE COUNTY, FL — Early voting began Monday in Manatee County and is available daily for voters through Nov. 6 from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.

This is one of three options for the county’s 281,050 registered voters who want to cast their ballot in statewide races and local contests in the Nov. 8 election.

There are 79,650 registered Democrats, 124,248 registered Republicans and 77,152 designated as “other,” meaning they’re registered with another party or no party affiliation, according to the Manatee County Supervisor of Elections Office.

In addition to early voting, voters can also vote by mail or vote in person on Nov. 8, Election Day.

Early voting

The following polls are open during early voting:

• Lakewood Ranch Town Hall, 8175 Lakewood Ranch Blvd., Lakewood Ranch
• Manatee County Utilities Administrative Office, 4410 66th Street W., Bradenton
• Palmetto Library, 923 6th Street W., Palmetto
• Rocky Bluff Library, 6750 U.S. Highway 301, Ellenton
• Supervisor of Elections Office, 600 301 Blvd. W., Bradenton

To cast your vote, bring a current and valid signature/photo ID. Acceptable identification includes:

• Florida driver license
• Florida ID card issued by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles
• U.S. passport
• Debit or credit card
• Military identification
• Student identification
• Retirement center identification
• Neighborhood association identification
• Public assistance identification driver license
• Veteran health ID card issued by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
• License to carry a concealed weapon or firearm
• Employee ID card issued by any entity of federal, state, county or municipal government

If the photo ID doesn’t have a signature, voters will be required to show an additional ID with a signature.

Vote-by-mail ballots can be returned by mail or in person at a secure ballot intake station at any of the county’s early voting locations.

What’s on the ballot?

There’s a lot for voters to consider on the Nov. 8 general election ballot.

All voters will consider federal, state and county races. They’ll also decide on three Florida constitutional amendments and one county referendum questions.

Bradenton, Holmes Beach, Palmetto and Bradenton Beach residents will also see specific items on the ballot.

Personalized sample ballots can be found here.

In Florida’s gubernatorial race, Republican incumbent Gov. Ron DeSantis faces the Democratic nominee, Charlie Crist.

Meanwhile, GOP incumbent U.S. Senator Marco Rubio also seeks reelection, going up against Democrat U.S. Rep. Val Demings.

At the county level, voters will decide on two Manatee County Commission seats. Democrat Reggie Bellamy, the incumbent, and Republican Amanda Ballard are vying for the District 2 seat, while Republican Mike Rahn is up against to write-in candidates, Daniel Hansen and Timothy Norwood, in District 4. And in District 6, Republican Jason Bearden also faces two write-in candidates, Robert Lesher and Manuel Antonio Llamas.

Voters will also decide on one Manatee County School Board run-off race. In District two, Harold E. Byrd, Jr. is up against Cindy Spray.

In the city of Bradenton, three city council seats are up for grabs. In Ward 2, incumbent Marianne Barneby faces a challenger, David M. Levin. Josh Cramer is running unopposed in Ward 3. And in Ward 4, incumbent Bill Sanders is up against two opponents, Kurt Landefeld and Lisa Gonzalez Moore.

In Holmes Beach, Judy Titsworth is running unopposed for mayor of the city. One commission seat is also up for grabs, which Jayne Christenson, Dan Diggins and Greg Kerchner are running for.

In Palmetto, Harold Smith and Brian T. Williams are running unopposed for city commission seats in Wards 1 and 3, respectively. In Ward 2, Sunshine R. Mathews is up against Kurt Mattingly for the seat.

In Bradenton Beach, Marilyn S. Maro and David Galuszka are running unopposed for the city commission seats in Wards 2 and 4, respectively. Voters will also have a say in whether five amendments to the city charter get approved.