PRIMARY · AUG 18, 2026

2026 VOTER GUIDE

Your Vote, Your Voice, Your Community

NEXT ELECTION

Florida Primary · August 18, 2026

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The Countdown will update to November 3, 2026 the morning after the primary.

DOWNLOAD & PRINT

Take the Guide With You

Every file below is hosted here on racc1776.com. No sign-in, no cloud account, no expiring share link. Print it, mark it up, and bring it to the polls.

Guide · PDF

Charlotte County Voter Guide

Charlotte County Voter Guide Every county and municipal race on the 2026 ballot, with candidate details as filed.

Sample ballot · EN / ES

Official Primary Ballot

Official Primary Ballot August 18, 2026 primary, Charlotte County. Bilingual sample ballot as issued.

Handbook · PDF

Florida Voter Handbook 2026

Florida Voter Handbook 2026 Registration rules, vote-by-mail process, ID requirements, and how to cure a signature.

PDF

Worksheet

My Ballot Worksheet One page. Write your picks down before Election Day so you are not deciding in the booth.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

Deadlines That Actually Bite

Miss one of these and no amount of preparation helps. Highlighted rows are the two that catch the most people.

Deadline :

What it means :

Florida runs a closed primary. If your party affiliation is not set by this date, you cannot vote in that party’s August primary.

Deadline :

Request a vote-by-mail ballot

What it means :

Requests must reach the Supervisor of Elections by 5 p.m. VBM requests do not roll over indefinitely, so check yours is on file.

Deadline :

Early voting period

What it means :

Dates and sites are set by the Supervisor of Elections. Any early voting site in the county works, not just your precinct.

Deadline :

Primary Election Day

What it means :

Polls open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Vote at your assigned precinct. Mailed ballots must be received, not postmarked, by 7 p.m.

Deadline :

Signature cure deadline

What it means :

If your mail ballot signature does not match, you have a short window to fix it. The county will contact you, but check your status yourself.

Deadline :

What it means :

Last day to register or update your address ahead of the November election.

Deadline :

Request a VBM ballot for the general

What it means :

Same 5 p.m. cutoff. A primary request does not automatically carry to November.

Deadline :

General Election Day

What it means :

Open to every registered voter regardless of party. Polls open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Date	Deadline	What It Means
Jul 20, 2026	Register to vote, or change party	Florida runs a closed primary. If your party affiliation is not set by this date, you cannot vote in that party’s August primary.
Aug 6, 2026	Request a vote-by-mail ballot	Requests must reach the Supervisor of Elections by 5 p.m. VBM requests do not roll over indefinitely, so check yours is on file.
Aug 2026	Early voting period	Dates and sites are set by the Supervisor of Elections. Any early voting site in the county works, not just your precinct.
Aug 18, 2026	Primary Election Day	Polls open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Vote at your assigned precinct. Mailed ballots must be received, not postmarked, by 7 p.m.
Aug 20, 2026	Signature cure deadline	If your mail ballot signature does not match, you have a short window to fix it. The county will contact you, but check your status yourself.
Oct 5, 2026	Register for the general	Last day to register or update your address ahead of the November election.
Oct 22, 2026	Request a VBM ballot for the general	Same 5 p.m. cutoff. A primary request does not automatically carry to November.
Nov 3, 2026	General Election Day	Open to every registered voter regardless of party. Polls open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Deadlines follow Florida’s standard schedule. Always confirm the exact date, early voting sites, and hours with the Charlotte County Supervisor of Elections before you rely on them.

KNOW BEFORE YOU GO

What Is Actually on Your Ballot

Most voters research the top of the ticket and guess at the rest. The races furthest down the page are the ones that touch your street.

Federal & State

U.S. House · Governor and Cabinet · State Senate and House

County

Board of County Commissioners · Sheriff, Clerk, Tax Collector · Property Appraiser, Supervisor of Elections

Local & Schools

School Board, nonpartisan · City of Punta Gorda offices · Special district seats

Questions

State constitutional amendments · County charter questions · Judicial retention, nonpartisan

Which specific seats appear depends on your precinct and the cycle. Your sample ballot is the authoritative list.

MAKE A PLAN

Five Steps to a Finished Ballot

Plenty of groups have opinions about local government. Fewer of them show up with the recording, the document, and the page number.

Check Your Registration

Confirm you are registered, your address is current, and your party affiliation is what you think it is. The last one decides whether the August ballot has anything on it for you.

Pull Your Sample Ballot

Your sample ballot lists the exact races you will see, in order. Download it and the guide together so you can work through them side by side.

Research the Down-Ballot Races

School board, commission, and special district seats rarely get coverage. Watch our recorded forums and read the candidates in their own words.

Write Your Picks Down

Use the worksheet. Deciding in the booth with a line behind you is how people leave races blank.

Pick Your Day

Vote by mail, vote early, or vote on Election Day. Whichever you choose, put it on the calendar and tell one other person you are going.

FIND YOUR BALLOT

Everything Depends on Your Address

Your precinct decides your polling place. Your district decides which commissioner and school board member you can actually vote for. Both come from your address, and both change with redistricting.

Look yours up once, then write it on the worksheet so you have it for November.

Two lookups, one minute

Find your precinct number and polling location, then see every official who currently represents you at the federal, state, and county level.

COMMON QUESTIONS

Answers Before You Have to Ask

Why can I not vote in the primary?

Florida runs a closed primary. In a partisan primary you can only vote in the party you are registered with, and your affiliation has to be set 29 days before the election. Nonpartisan races such as school board and judicial retention, plus any ballot questions, appear for everyone.

If a race draws candidates from only one party and no write-in qualifies, it becomes a universal primary open to all voters. That happens more often in county races than people expect, which is why checking your sample ballot matters.

What ID do I need at the polls?

Bring a current photo ID with your signature. A Florida driver license or state ID card is the common one. If your photo ID has no signature, bring a second document that does.

Without acceptable ID you can still vote a provisional ballot, and the canvassing board reviews it afterward. Bringing ID is far simpler.

How does vote-by-mail work now?

You have to request a mail ballot, and requests expire rather than continuing forever. Request it, watch for it to arrive, sign the envelope exactly as your signature appears on your registration, and return it early.

It must be received by the Supervisor of Elections by 7 p.m. on Election Day. A postmark does not count. If you are inside the last week, use a secure drop-off location instead of the mail.

My signature does not match. Now what?

The county will notify you and send a cure affidavit. You return it with a copy of your ID by the deadline, which falls shortly after Election Day. Signatures drift over years, so this is common and fixable.

Do not wait to be contacted. Track your ballot status yourself so you catch it early.

What We Are Not

Yes. An unmarked race does not invalidate the rest of your ballot. But down-ballot races are decided by very few votes, so a blank there carries more weight than a blank at the top of the ticket.

Is this guide telling me how to vote?

No. The guide compiles who filed, what they said on the record, and where to find the source. Our positions live on the Where We Stand page, clearly labeled as ours.

We would rather you disagree with us having read the ballot than agree with us having read a mailer.

2019

Serving Charlotte County

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