Volusia County

Open seat. Jake Johansson left it to run for state Senate. Miller had 41.6% in August and Poniatowski 39.1%.

Anderson had 47.6% in August and Dempsey 32.1%.

White had 46.1% in August and Robins 38.7%.

Covers Deltona and DeBary. No pick: we found too little on either man's record or plans.

Also on the ballot, and not rated: merit retention (yes or no) votes for appeals court judges; West Volusia Hospital Authority Group B, Seat 2 (Voloria Manning, the incumbent, and David Markle), for west Volusia voters only; and any community development district seats in your area. See your sample ballot.

Ashley Moody was appointed in January 2025 to fill Marco Rubio's vacated seat.

Open seat. Also on the ballot: Scott Eckhard Jewett and Nicole Skelly (Libertarian), and five no-party tickets: Charles Burkett and Ruben A. Coto, Frank J. Russo and Rachel Rodriguez, Moliere "Moe" Dimanche and Benjiman Rojas, Dean Ocean Abrams and Joe Van Vactor, and Jeffrey Peter "Dr. Jeff" Datto and Juan Santana.

We describe what each amendment does and don't make recommendations. A Florida constitutional amendment needs 60% yes to pass.

• Amendment 1: Lets the state keep up to 25% of general revenue in its rainy-day fund (the budget stabilization fund), up from 10%. The Legislature would have to put in $750 million a year, or whatever it takes to reach 25%, unless certain conditions are met, and could pull money out for critical state needs.
• Amendment 2: Exempts equipment and other tangible personal property on agricultural land from property tax, when it is used for farming or agritourism and owned by the landowner or leaseholder. Starts in 2027.
• Amendment 3: Raises the homestead exemption on non-school property taxes to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, then adjusts it for inflation, and lets counties and cities go as high as the full value of the home. People who move to Florida after December 31, 2026 get the bigger exemption only from their fifth year. It also cuts the yearly cap on assessment increases for non-homestead property from 10% to 5%, and limits what counties and cities can spend property taxes on (public safety, schools, infrastructure, natural resources, debt, pensions, and operations). Takes effect January 1, 2027.
• Supreme Court: Justice Carlos G. Muñiz is up for a yes-or-no retention vote. We haven't profiled him.

Libertarian Andrew Parrott is also on the ballot, and Alec Pavlik is a write-in candidate; we haven't profiled them. We know little about Eric Yonce, but his opponent's record earns the pick.

Covers part of Volusia along with Seminole County. Rep. Cory Mills lost the August Republican primary to Ryan Elijah. Libertarian Christopher Dennison is also on the ballot; we haven't profiled him.

Open seat. Sen. Tom Wright is term-limited. Covers most of Volusia and northern Brevard. Libertarian Gabriel Jude Wozniak, who chairs the county Libertarian Party, is also on the ballot. No pick: we found almost nothing on Judy Ngying.

Shared with Lake County. We know little about Andy Ferrari, but his opponent's record earns the pick.

Covers northeast Volusia, including Ormond Beach and Daytona Beach. Libertarian Joe Hannoush is also on the ballot; we haven't profiled him. We know little about Sammy Jackson, but his opponent's record earns the pick.

Covers part of west Volusia.

Covers southeast Volusia and northern Brevard. We know little about Edwin Munoz, but his opponent's record earns the pick.

Little is known about either candidate. We pick Navarra, a longtime public school teacher; Paris has the business chamber's backing.

Runoff. Miller had 41.9% in August and May 37.6%.

Runoff. Mayor Santiago Avila Jr. finished third in August; the top two were 51 votes apart. No pick: we know little about either candidate's record.

No pick. We found nothing on either candidate beyond their questionnaire answers.

No pick. We found nothing on either candidate beyond a questionnaire and a Facebook page.

O'Brien finished first in the August primary.

No pick. Both candidates run on protecting the city's character, and we found no independent coverage of either.

Runoff; Lou Pate was eliminated in August. Toss-up between two decent candidates; we pick Devine, whose public service includes work as a federal asylum officer.

No pick. We found little on either candidate.

Runoff. Briley had 41.9% in August and Bobak 38.8%.

Phyllis Butlien (vice mayor) and Lita Handy-Peters (former vice mayor and 2016 interim mayor).

District 1: Charlotte Hope Gillis (incumbent) and Chuck Martin. District 3: Debbie Dolbow (incumbent) and Jim McGinnis.

At-large: Stephen P. Gensel Jr. and Dana Knight. District 3: Brett Marquez and Sherry Pough.

Oak Hill Commission Seat 3: Joseph A. Catigano (vice mayor) and Terry Mason. Pierson Council Seat 1: Julie M. Chrisp and Linnie Richardson.

On every Volusia ballot. All five come from the 2026 Charter Review Commission, which meets once every ten years; the County Council couldn't change or remove them. Full text (PDF).

• Appointed chair and tighter term limits: The council would pick one of its own members as county chair each year, for no more than two years in a row, instead of voters electing the chair countywide. The council would become seven members: five by district and two at-large. No council member could run again if they would have served eight straight years by the end of their current term.
• Council expense reimbursement: Removes the charter's limits on paying back council members for work-related expenses. (Today their salary covers in-county expenses, and only out-of-county expenses are reimbursed.)
• Constitutional officers cleanup: Repeals charter language made obsolete by the 2018 state constitutional amendment on county constitutional officers (such as the sheriff and the elections supervisor), and replaces it.
• Personnel rules: Takes the county's personnel and merit system rules out of the charter and requires the council to set them by ordinance instead.
• Conservation land registry: Creates a registry of county conservation land that can't be sold or given away unless the council decides it's no longer needed for conservation. Adding or removing land takes a majority-plus-one vote of the full council, with extra public notice for removals. Public-purpose uses and eminent domain are exceptions.

Won without opposition or settled in August: School Board District 3 (Grace Kellermeier) and District 5 (Ruben Colón); County Judge Groups 1 (Joseph LeDonne), 3 (David A. Cromartie), 6 (Michele Simonsen), 7 (David H. Foxman) and 10 (Angela A. Dempsey); 13 Seventh Circuit judge seats, including Group 26 (Jeanne Stratis); Soil and Water Conservation District seats; West Volusia Hospital Authority Group B, Seat 1 (Jennifer Lee Coen); Daytona Beach Zone 5 (Willie F. Williams); Daytona Beach Shores Mayor (Stephan Dembinsky) and Seats 1 (Chris Conomos) and 3 (Vince DonVito); DeBary Seats 3 (Michael Scheck) and 4 (Christopher Adams); DeLand Mayor (Christopher M. Cloudman) and Seats 3 (Jessica Davis) and 5 (Kevin Reid); Edgewater Mayor (Diezel D. DePew); Holly Hill District 2 (Carmen Ruiz) and District 4 (Damon Sansom); Lake Helen Zones 2 (Earl Farmer) and 4 (Charlene Bishop); New Smyrna Beach Zone 1 (Carl Curtis Hodges); Oak Hill Seat 1 (Glyn W. Weeks); Orange City Districts 4 (Anthony Pupello) and 5 (Frances Darms); Ormond Beach Mayor (Lori Tolland), Zone 1 (Melissa DeVriese) and Zone 3 (Kristin Deaton); Pierson Seats 2 (Brandy Peterson) and 3 (Robert F. Greenlund); Ponce Inlet Seats 2 (Bill Milano) and 4 (Joseph John Villanella); Port Orange Districts 1 (Stan Schmidt), 2 (Tracy Grubbs) and 4 (Lance Green); South Daytona Seats 2 (Doug Quartier) and 3 (Lisa L. O'Neal); and several community development district seats.