What’s on Your August Ballot? A Polk County Voter’s Guide to the 2026 Primary
When Polk County voters head to the polls on August 18, not everyone will see the same ballot. What appears in front of you depends on two things: the party you are registered with and the address where you live. Some races appear on every voter’s ballot in the county, while others are limited to members of a particular party or residents of a specific district. Here is a plain-language guide to what is on the ballot this primary.
The deadline to register to vote or change your party affiliation for the August primary is July 20, 2026. Florida is a closed primary state, which means that in most party contests, only voters registered with that party can cast a ballot. There are exceptions, and one of them shows up on this very ballot, which we will get to below.
Races every Polk County voter can weigh in on
Two types of races are open to all registered voters regardless of party: nonpartisan contests and county-wide races.
School board races top that list. Three contested seats are on the August ballot, all nonpartisan and decided by a county-wide vote. In District 3, appointed incumbent Kate Wallace faces Sarah Corona and Victor Sims. In District 5, longtime incumbent Kay Fields faces Sam Neelam. In District 6, incumbent Justin Sharpless faces Kasen Hampton.
A fourth school board seat, District 7, was not contested. Incumbent Lisa Miller drew no opponent and was reelected by default, so that race will not appear on the ballot.
Judicial races are also nonpartisan. Two open-seat contests for the 10th Judicial Circuit are on the August ballot, with Lakeisha Latoya Babers facing Chris P. Spath, and Andrea DeMichael facing Candice Dixon. Six other circuit judges and all three Polk County judges were unopposed and will not appear on the ballot.
Races that depend on your party
Because Florida runs closed primaries, several contests will appear only on the ballots of voters registered with the relevant party.
The race for Florida governor drew 25 qualified candidates. In August, registered Democrats choose among five candidates and registered Republicans choose among nine. The remaining candidates, including no-party-affiliation, Libertarian, and write-in contenders, advance directly to the November general election.
Two statewide cabinet races also feature primaries. For Chief Financial Officer, Republicans choose between incumbent Blaise Ingoglia and Frank William Collige, while Democrats choose between Earle Ford and Annette Taddeo. For Commissioner of Agriculture, Republicans choose between incumbent Wilton Simpson and Matt Taylor.
The closest-to-home partisan race is the Polk County Commission seat in District 2, the only partisan local race on the August ballot. The district covers southern Polk County, including parts of Mulberry, Bartow, Lake Wales, Fort Meade, and Frostproof. Both candidates, incumbent Rick Wilson and challenger Kelly Quinn, are Republicans.
That last detail matters. Because both District 2 candidates share the same party and no opposing-party or write-in candidate filed, the race may qualify as a universal primary, the closed-primary exception that opens a contest to every voter in the district regardless of party. Voters in District 2 should confirm their specific ballot with the Supervisor of Elections, since whether the race appears for all voters depends on how the contest is certified.
What is not on the August ballot
Several races Polk County voters may be watching are reserved for the November general election.
The County Commission District 4 race, where Omar Arroyo faces write-in candidate Elisha Gresham, will be decided in November. So will the contests for state House Districts 50 and 51 and U.S. House District 18.
How to know your exact ballot
The surest way to see what will be in front of you is to check your own voter record. The Polk County Supervisor of Elections is preparing an official sample ballot, which will be the authoritative source for each voter’s specific races. Voters can confirm their registration, find their polling location, and view that sample ballot when it becomes available through the Check Your Information tool at PolkElections.gov.
There a few dates to keep handy.
The deadline to register or change party affiliation is July 20. The deadline to request a vote-by-mail ballot is August 6. Early voting runs from August 8 through August 15, and primary day is August 18.
With the registration deadline approaching, now is the time for Polk County residents to confirm their party and precinct so they are ready to vote the full ballot.
Disclaimer: This article is intended as a general civic explainer and not as legal advice. Candidate lineups, ballot contents, and primary classifications are subject to change, and voters with questions about their registration status, eligibility, or specific ballot should contact the Polk County Supervisor of Elections office directly.
Sources: LkldNow, Ballot Set for August Election, lkldnow.com
Ballotpedia, Polk County, Florida, elections, 2026, ballotpedia.org
Florida Department of State, Division of Elections, 2026 Election Dates and Candidate listings, dos.fl.gov
Polk County Supervisor of Elections, polkelections.gov
