Voter Information
Time to Use your Voice and Your Vote
Here are important dates to remember for the 2026 election
2026 ELECTION DATES
Primary Election 2026
Election Day – August 18, 2026
Early Voting
August 8- August 15, 2026
Voter Registration and Party Change Deadline
July 20, 2026
General Election 2026
Election Day – November 3, 2026
Early Voting
October 21-October 31, 2026
Voter Registration Deadline
October 5, 2026
If you are new to the area or new to voting, and you are uncertain about where your polling place is located, you can go here to find out.
Voter Registration Information
Check your Voter Status
Your vote is your voice – make it count! Not sure if you are currently registered? Not sure if you have registered to vote by mail? Check your status in one quick stop. Don’t wait! Make your vote count!
REGISTER TODAY!
Don’t wait – register today and empower yourself to be part of the change. Then take it further, encourage friends, family and neighbors to register too. Every voice strengthens our democracy, and every voice matters
Renew Your Vote-by-Mail Registration
Due to state law changes, vote-by-mail needs to be renewed after every general election.
Vote-by-mail is a fundamental right that empower every eligible citizen to participate in our democratic process, regardless of circumstances or location. Your vote is safe and protected. It’s safe and secure. Florida’s vote-by mail system employs stringent security measures to ensure the integrity of every ballot
Whether you’re a busy professional, a senior citizen, a student, or facing mobility challenges, vote by mail ensures that every eligible voter has the opportunity to participate in our democracy. Check your VBM registration status and renew below.
Qualified Democratic Candidates for Office
Qualified Democratic Candidates for Federal and State Offices
Candidates for Governor
Florida Attorney General
Florida Agricultural Commissioner
Joey Mendoza Atkins
Don Pritchard
Florida CFO
Annette Taddeo
Earle Ford
United States Senate
Angie Nixon is a Democratic State Representative, union organizer, mother, and proven fighter born and raised in Jacksonville. In the State House, Angie has been a leading champion for working and middle class Floridians—from expanding childcare for thousands of families; to stopping a major grocery chain from gouging their prices; to leading the resistance to DeSantis’s unfair voting maps.
Angie’s pathbreaking leadership includes serving as Executive Director of Florida for All, a statewide coalition that has registered tens of thousands of new voters while raising resources for campaigns and issue-based organizing across the state.
With our state’s rich resources, we all deserve to thrive. Angie is fighting for our children. For lower costs and higher wages. For a government that stands up to corrupt billionaires and corporate greed—while opening the door to the people. For the heart and soul of our country.
Dr. Alexander Vindman is a retired US Army Lieutenant Colonel and current candidate for Florida’s 2026 Senate Special Election. He previously service as director for European Affairs on the National Security Council. Before that, he served as the Political-Military Affairs Officer for Russia for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and as an attaché at the US Embassies in Moscow and Kyiv. While on the Joint Staff, he authored the National Military Strategy for Russia. He earned a Master’s from Harvard University, where he served as a Hauser Leader, and a Master’s and Doctorate from Johns Hopkins, where he was a senior fellow. Dr. Vindman leads the national security think tank Institute for Informed American Leadership and the non-profit Here Right Matters Foundation and was a former executive board member for the Renew Democracy Initiative, a senior fellow at the Kettering Foundation, and a senior advisor to VoteVets. Dr. Vindman is the author of the Why It Matters Substack and the New York Times bestselling books Here, Right Matters and The Folly of Realism
United States Congress - CD5
Rachel Grage has spent her life showing up for her community and working to make it stronger.
She raised four children while staying deeply involved in the life of her neighborhood and the broader community. Rachel volunteered locally, supported schools and churches, participated in regional theater, and took on leadership roles in her neighborhood association. These experiences grounded her in the everyday realities families face and reinforced her belief that communities work best when people are willing to step up and take responsibility.
As her children grew older, Rachel became increasingly engaged in civic life and public policy. She began attending local meetings, following legislative debates, and speaking out about how decisions made in Tallahassee and Washington affect real people. She saw how policy choices directly shape the cost of insurance and health care, housing affordability, public education, and whether families can afford to remain in the communities they call home.
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Through her work as a community advocate, Rachel focused on issues impacting working families across Northeast Florida. What she witnessed troubled her. Too often, elected officials prioritized partisan conflict and political theater over addressing rising insurance costs, housing shortages, and the economic pressures squeezing families throughout the region. She saw a growing disconnect between the challenges people face and the priorities coming out of government.
Rachel ran for the Florida House because she believed the state could do better and that leadership should be rooted in problem solving, accountability, and service. When that race ended, she did not step away from public life. She continued to advocate for families, stay engaged with policy debates, and work within the community to push for practical solutions. For Rachel, public service is not about a single campaign or election. It is about consistent engagement and standing up for people who need a voice.
Rachel Grage is running for Congress because she believes Florida’s Fifth District deserves representation that is grounded in the community and focused on results. Her campaign is guided by a clear set of values: affordability for families, accountability from elected officials, and restoring trust in a democracy that works for the people it serves.
Mark Heggestad’s story begins in a small town in Minnesota, where he grew up surrounded by the Midwestern values of fairness, humility, and looking out for your neighbors. Those early lessons shaped the way he sees public service today: everyone deserves a fair shot, and progress happens when people work together.
After building a life and career grounded in problem‑solving, leadership, and community involvement, Mark eventually made his home on the Southside of Jacksonville. Over the years, he and his wife have built deep roots across Northeast Florida — from working as a Senior Project manager in Health Care (Rare Disease) to supporting local businesses to serving the community in countless ways.
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Mark’s leadership style was forged over 40 years as a football official, where accountability, teamwork, and integrity weren’t abstract ideals — they were the job. Those same principles guide his approach to politics: listen first, act with fairness, and make decisions that put people ahead of partisanship. He has already drafted the Presidential Order Compliance Act, demonstrating his ability to turn real-world concerns into effective legislative solutions while building bridges across communities and practicing compassionate politics. Guided by a lifelong dedication to public service, fairness, and teamwork, he will be a competent and trusted legislator who delivers honest representation for Florida’s 5th District.
Running as a Democrat for Florida’s 5th District, Mark has spent the time knocking doors and hearing directly from the people he hopes to represent. Young voters worried about ICE enforcement. Families crushed by healthcare costs. Long‑time residents feeling priced out of their own neighborhoods. These conversations fuel his mission to level the playing field so every family — not just the well‑connected — can build a stable and hopeful future.
I’m a 29-year-old healthcare simulation software developer running to represent Florida’s 5th Congressional District. I’m not a career politician, I won’t take money from corporations or special interest groups, and I will fight for the everyday people of this district. My entire adult life I’ve watched policymakers on both sides of the aisle fail to deliver results. It’s time to bring a new perspective into our leadership. I’m not here to manage a broken system – I’m here to help re-engineer it, ensuring our leadership reflects the lived realities of the people it serves.
I was raised during a period of rapid technological growth. I was three when I learned how to use a computer, created my first social media profile in middle school, and had internet access in the palm of my hand throughout high school. I received my Bachelor of Science in Game Design and Development from the Rochester Institute of Technology, where I learned how to code and develop software. Today, I work with emerging technologies including virtual reality and artificial intelligence. I deeply understand the challenges and opportunities of this new technological era, better than most, and I want to help create and shape policies that embrace innovation while protecting our youth, our minds, our privacy, and our future.
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The current iteration of politicians are complicit in where we are today – dividing us and inciting hate rather than bringing us together and addressing the real issues we face. We need more young people to get involved, hold the system accountable, and help move our communities forward. We need leaders who understand the challenges we face today and are willing to fight for the future we all deserve. That’s exactly what I intend to do.
I am a young, energetic candidate who is more than two decades younger than the other candidates running for this district. I have a strong personal stake in making life more affordable, as I am still early in my adult life. I want to be able to buy a house and raise a family here in Jacksonville, just like many of you do. I want to enact transformative policies around affordable housing, Healthcare for All, and worker’s rights and protections. These issues aren’t abstract to me – they are central to the future I want to help build and live in.
Qualified Democratic Candidates for Local Offices
Florida State House HD-19
I’m Suzanna Pavelle – a small business owner, community advocate, volunteer and someone who’s proud to call Northeast Florida home. Like many of you, I’ve been feeling the squeeze. Property insurance keeps going up. Healthcare costs more every year. Groceries, gas, everyday essentials – it all adds up. For people on a fixed income, or working hard just to get by, it’s getting harder to keep up.
I didn’t plan to run for office, but I got tired of watching our representatives in Tallahassee focus on culture wars and cater to developers, instead of tackling the real issues. Too many decisions are being made without listening to the people who actually live here. I believe we deserve better, and that’s why I stepped up.
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If you send me to Tallahassee, I’ll stay focused on what really matters to our community. That means working to bring down property insurance costs and make healthcare more affordable. It means making sure local communities, not outside interests, have a real say in how our area grows and develops. It means protecting the natural beauty that makes this place special. And it means strengthening our public schools, so every child has a fair shot.
I’ve spent over 25 years running a small business, solving problems, and making tough decisions. I’m not a career politician. I’m someone who sees what’s happening around us and is ready to roll up my sleeves and get to work.
I’m running to be a voice for people who feel like they’ve been overlooked. And I’d be honored to earn your trust and your vote.
Art Stresing is the son of a Disabled Navy Veteran and a Filipino Immigrant Mother. He and his siblings grew up Catholic and were raised on food stamps. His parents produced two attorneys, a teacher, and a professional with a graduate degree. His parents instilled a sense of hard work and perseverance that they all still rely upon today
He worked his way through college and earned his undergraduate degree at the University at Buffalo as a recruited walk-on on their D-1 Football Team at Center/Guard. He earned his law degree at Florida Coastal and has been practicing law as an attorney since 2011.
He has lived in the Saint Johns/Jacksonville area for 20 years and has owned a home in Saint Johns since 2017. He is married to his wonderful wife, Brittney Stresing, who is on Active Duty Orders in the U.S. Navy. They have two amazing children of Filipino-Jamaican heritage, Phoenix Storm and Banner Logan, who both possess limitless potential.
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Art was never a stranger to hard work. He worked many jobs from different walks of life. He worked as a paperboy, manual laborer on farms, pitched festival tents, worked in medical supply factories on the floor, as a bouncer, in VA hospitals, and at law firms. He was the President of the Jacksonville Asian-America Bar Association for many years and has served on several committees within the FL Bar and Jacksonville Bar Association while volunteering throughout the community. He is currently a Division Chief at the Public Defender’s Office in Downtown Jacksonville and has been there for over 11 years zealously defending the rights of the poor and defenseless.
His hard work and perseverance didn’t end there. During the pandemic in 2020, he cared for his family and their newborn baby. Shortly after things calmed down and people started returning to work, his family was struck with the ultimate blow. His late wife of 11 years, Dee Stresing, was diagnosed with cancer. For the next year, he took her to countless chemo treatments and doctor appointments, all while working full-time as an attorney at the public defender. Tragically, cancer did what it usually does and Dee passed in 2022. He then stepped up even more as a widowed single father to make sure that his children were taken care of and supported during this time of grief. Years passed and he met his wonderful wife, Brittney, who gave all three hope and happiness. She was exactly what they needed in their lives and has been an amazing wife and mother.
Art is running for the FL House of Representatives, District 18 because his life struggles don’t limit him, they define him. They have shown him that hard work and perseverance can lead to great things. He loves Saint Johns and he knows that many other families also face their own hardships and struggles. He is determined to do whatever it takes to make their lives better in Saint Johns.
St Johns County School Committee - District 4
Jillian Tozer, a local small business owner, dedicated community leader, and Nocatee mother, is running for the District 4 School Board seat. As proud District 4 homeowners, Jillian and her husband, Brendan, specifically chose to put down permanent roots in St. Johns County because of the district’s reputation for educational excellence.
Jillian is deeply invested in the Valley Ridge Academy community where her two daughters, Lilly and Maddy, attend second and fourth grade. She is a highly active volunteer, serving on the PTO, the School Advisory Council (SAC), the Library Committee, and as a room parent. Beyond her extensive involvement in the classroom, Jillian is a professional with a background in complex logistics and community development. As the owner of Tozer Travel, she understands the daily challenges facing small businesses. Combined with her degree in City, Regional Planning, and Community Development, she possesses a unique set of skills perfectly suited for managing the growth and budgetary demands of a top-tier school district.
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Jillian understands the diverse needs of District 4—from protecting the established excellence of Ponte Vedra Beach to managing the rapid growth of Nocatee. She is running to bring proactive, common-sense leadership to the School Board, focusing on four key pillars:
- Teacher Retention: Committing to keeping our most dedicated educators in the classroom and preventing budget-related layoffs.
- Smart Growth: Leveraging her background in regional planning to address rezoning challenges transparently and responsibly as local demographics evolve.
- Academic Excellence: Maintaining St. Johns County’s #1 district rating by ensuring robust, higher-level AP classes remain fully funded and available.
- Fiscal Responsibility: Managing the district with total financial transparency to maximize the impact of taxpayer funds.
City of St. Augustine Commission
Matt Brown is a 2000 graduate of St. Augustine High School, and the current chair of the St. Augustine Port, Waterway, and Beach District. He earned his law degree from NYU in 2011, and serves as executive director of Common Good, a non-partisan government reform and public policy group. He lives in Uptown with his wife and two children, and enjoys gardening, swimming, and woodworking.
Matt Brown is a native Floridian and a 2000 graduate of Saint Augustine High School. A beach lifeguard in St. Johns County for nearly a decade, he was awarded the South Atlantic Lifesaving Association’s “Lifeguard of the Year” award in 2003. After earning his law degree from NYU in 2011, he became the executive director of Common Good, a non-partisan government reform and public policy group, where he focuses on issues related to regulatory quality, infrastructure permitting, and urban planning. In 2018, Matt was elected to the St. Augustine Port, Waterway, and Beach District, and has served as chair since 2020. He also serves on the Guana-Tolomato National Estuarine Research Reserve’s Management Advisory Group and the Ketterlinus School Advisory Council. Matt and his wife Katie and their two children live in Uptown, where he enjoys gardening, swimming, and woodworking.
Ashleigh Barnes grew up just west of the St. Johns River in Clay County, and St. Augustine was always part of her life—its beaches, its restaurants, and its bed-and-breakfasts.
She earned her undergraduate degree from Stetson University and her law degree from the University of Florida before continuing her studies abroad, earning a master’s degree in law from Leiden University and a PhD in Australia.
After spending time living and traveling around the world, she and her family chose to return to St. Augustine to raise their children here. There’s truly nothing like it—that’s why they came back.
Like many families here, her days are a mix of work, home repairs on their 1884 house, school schedules, and extracurriculars.
Here, she went from law professor to small business owner to startup co-founder. She co-founded a tutoring company and an education data startup focused on supporting teachers, the people doing the real work of moving students forward every day. That experience has reinforced something simple: the best solutions come from listening closely, staying flexible, and building around people’s real needs—not what we assume they need. Her commitment is always to solving the problem, not to any one particular solution.
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For the past three and a half years, Ashleigh has served on the Planning and Zoning Board, where she has had a front-row seat to how decisions are made in the city—what it does well, and where it needs to do better. She has reviewed more than 500 applications from across the city.
St. Augustine is a remarkable place: historic, beautiful, and deeply unique. But it is also facing real challenges: affordability, infrastructure, growth, and mobility in a city that was largely designed when horses were the primary mode of transportation, at a time when both the local population and visitor traffic are increasing at a pace the city wasn’t built for.
Ashleigh is running for City Commission because she is deeply invested in this community and believes St. Augustine needs leadership that listens and leads with vision.
Ports, Waterways & Beaches
Sean Hess is a Florida-based business owner and communications professional with more than 20 years of experience leading teams, managing operations, and working directly with the public. He has built and run businesses with a focus on reliability, clear communication, and getting things done the right way, including experience in real estate and client services.
Today, Sean works with research and clinical teams to help them communicate complex ideas clearly and effectively, experience that carries over to working with diverse stakeholders and making practical, well-informed decisions.
Sean has lived in St. Augustine since 1994 and has been involved in the community through volunteer work with Big Brothers Big Sisters of St. Johns County, Ancient City Soccer, the St. Anastasia Choir, and the St. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum. He and his wife raised their children in the St. Johns County School District, giving him a lasting personal investment in the community and its future.
Sean supports thoughtful, responsible growth, with an emphasis on economic development, job creation, and maintaining a high standard of service at the airport for businesses, customers, and local residents.
He brings a steady, results-oriented approach to decision-making, emphasizing transparency and long-term planning.
Mosquito Control Board
Sandra Fein - Seat 4
My name is Sandra Fein and I am running to serve as commissioner seat #2 on the board of Anastasia Mosquito Control District (AMCD). Mosquito control is a major public health issue for not only the county, but for the entire world, as mosquitos are prime vectors (carriers) for a wide host of serious and often fatal diseases. Mosquitoes are vectors for severe pathogens such as West Nile, Eastern Equine Encephalitis, Dengue, and Zika.
My platform is built like a three-legged stool: data driven research to stay ahead of the threats, active vector control to stop mosquitos in their tracks, and public education so we can fight them together. If you weaken one leg, the whole system fails.
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Education of the public is a major force multiplier in this ongoing battle. My education and professional work background makes me an ideal candidate for this position. As a Registered Nurse (FL #3015192) with a clinical background spanning critical care to infection control to hospice. I have a master’s degree in Community Psychology, post graduate work in Organizational Studies and have consulted and taught in a variety of academic settings. I have served as the clinical administrator of the one of the nation’s largest rural hospices, and as the director of education for a major medical consulting corporation. With decades of experience managing multimillion dollar budgets in healthcare, I will ensure your tax dollars are used efficiently and transparently.
Once a Navy veteran, I am now the Operations Manager at the St. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum, where I oversee daily operations, safety, and preservation at one of the region’s most visited historic landmarks.
I’m a longtime St. Johns County resident, husband, father, and proud advocate for families, including my child with special needs. These experiences have deeply shaped who I am and strengthened my commitment to protecting public health and supporting families in our community.
As a graduate of Flagler College with a Bachelor’s Degree in Public Administration, my professional background includes:
-Managing complex operations and maintenance teams-
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-Ensuring safety, compliance, and efficiency in public non-profit environments-[Text Wrapping Break]-Leading with accountability while solving real-world problems-
I bring proven leadership, a steady, results-driven approach, and a deep commitment to public service and believe that mosquito control should be handled locally, with a focus on protecting families, respecting the environment, and using taxpayer dollars responsibly.
Congratulations to the following Democratic Candidates who have won their seats unopposed:
- Peter Jennison for Port, Waterways, and Beaches, Group 3
- Wes Moore for Ponte Vedra Municipal Services District, Seat 1
- Judith Kinnecom, Heritage Park CDD, Seat 1
- Nancy Brown, Isles of Bartram Park CDD, Seat 2
- Joseph Zemel, Isles of Bartram Park CDD, Seat 4
- Laurie Collier, Madeira CDD, Seat 2
- Lisa Davies, Marshall Creek CDD, Seat 2
- Carly Weddle, St Johns Forest, Seat 3
- Sarina Durden, Turnbull Creek CDD, Seat 5
NWUP is a grassroots organization made of registered Democrats and NPA’s (No Political Affiliation) as affiliate members. It is the local Democratic Party Club for Northwest St Johns County
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