Elections

An elections technology company is taking full responsibility for glitches that kept many Florida county elections officials from immediately posting primary results Tuesday night.While the problem didn’t affect voters or ballot counting, there were still unanswered questions Wednesday.

The most notable losers in Tuesday’s primary elections in Manatee and Sarasota counties weren’t even on the ballot.Governor Ron DeSantis, GOP political consultant Anthony Pedicini, and a trio of prominent local developers were not candidates themselves, yet voters delivered them a clear rebuke, with six out of seven candidates they supported facing defeat.

Charlotte County Sheriff Bill Prummell admits he doesn’t like running for office, but he knows it’s part of the job as he seeks a fourth term as the county’s top cop.“I just really have a love of this job, a love of this community. And there's things that I saw that we needed to do here, to improve the quality of life for our residents. And, you know, I still have some goals that I want to achieve,” said Prummell.

Most third-party voter registration organizations have stopped their work due to a new law involving large fines

The deadline to register to vote or update your party affiliation for the 2024 Primary Election is July 22.Florida is a Closed Primary State. This means that only voters who are registered members of a political party may vote for their respective party’s candidate in a Primary Election.

The League of Women Voters chapters of Lee County and Sanibel are hosting forums for candidates to share their views on key issues. The forums will host candidates that will be on the ballot for the Aug. 20 primary election. WGCU has compiled the events, and will update the following list as more forums are scheduled.

Equal Ground is a Black-led community organization that monitors the Florida legislature and advocates for the Black community.

With the state Supreme Court this week signing off on ballot initiatives about abortion rights and recreational use of marijuana, Floridians in November will vote on six proposed constitutional amendments.

The Florida Supreme Court on Monday upheld the state’s ban on most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, which means a subsequently passed six-week ban can soon take effect.The court that was reshaped by former presidential candidate and Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis ruled that the 15-week ban signed by DeSantis in 2022 can take effect. The ban has been enforced while it was being challenged in court. A six-week ban passed in the 2023 legislative session was written so that it would not take effect until a month after the 2022 law was upheld.The Court also ruled that the proposed constitutional amendment that would enshrine abortion access will be on the state’s November ballot.

The Collier County Supervisor of Elections office will conduct a machine recount followed by a manual recount of ballots from the Naples mayoral race and a city council race that were too close to call following Tuesday’s elections.