Voters Reject Countywide Elections, OK Schools Tax: Sarasota County Unofficial Results

SARASOTA COUNTY, FL — Sarasota County voters decided on two referendums at the polls on Tuesday.

When casting their ballot, they approved the continuation of a Sarasota County Schools tax and rejected countywide voting for county commissioners in favor of single-member districts, according to unofficial results from the Supervisor of Elections office.

With all 99 precincts reporting as of 9:30 p.m. on Tuesday night, about 84 percent of voters — 83,446 people — said “yes” to continuing the 1 mill per year ad valorem millage benefiting the school district. Meanwhile, nearly 16 percent or 15,672 voters rejected the continuation of the tax, the Supervisor of Elections office said.

Funds from the tax, which will be collected starting July 1 of this year through June 30, 2026, are used to pay for recruiting and retaining teachers, educational programs, textbooks, technology and other resources, the school district said.

When asked if county commissioners should be elected countywide, allowing voters to decide on all five commissioners as each seat comes up for election, not just the commissioner in the district where they live in, about 57 percent of voters — 56,868 people — rejected the proposal by responding “no,” according to the Supervisor of Elections office.

With nearly 43 percent of voters or 42,523 people saying “yes” to the county charter amendment, this means single-member districts prevailed on Tuesday.