Chain of Custody Questions Emerge After Fort Meade Recall Petitions Submitted, Signature Count Discrepancy Unexplained

FORT MEADE, Fla. — Raul Alfonso and George McNerney, plaintiffs in active lawsuits challenging the city’s April 14, 2026 approval of the $2.6 billion Stonebridge data center development agreement and members of the Fort Meade Recall Committee, confirmed to The Citrus Tea News that the preliminary signature count from the Polk County Supervisor of Elections shows 55 more signatures than the committee’s own internal count across the three recall petitions targeting Mayor Jaret Landon Williams, Vice Mayor Petrina McCutchen, and Commissioner Matthew Taylor.

As a result, the committee raised chain of custody concerns related to the handling of the petitions from the time the box was received at City Hall to the time it was received at the Supervisor of Elections Office .

The Fort Meade Recall Committee submitted a sealed box of recall petitions to the City of Fort Meade on Wednesday. Their internal count was 431 signatures for Mayor Jaret Landon Williams, 430 for Vice Mayor Petrina McCutchen, and 441 for Commissioner Matthew Taylor. The SOE’s preliminary count showed 432 for Williams, 437 for McCutchen, and 488 for Taylor.

The SOE did not address the discrepancy by number in its response, but stated they expect to fulfill The Citrus Tea News’ public records request for copies of the signed petitions and chain-of-custody documentation as early as Monday.

What the SOE Confirmed

The Citrus Tea News emailed Nathan Register, Chief of Staff of the Polk County Supervisor of Elections, on July 17, 2026. Register responded the same day. The following reflects what the SOE confirmed on the record.

• City of Fort Meade staff delivered the sealed box of petition signatures to the SOE Headquarters in Bartow on Wednesday.
• The box delivered by City of Fort Meade Staff is the only box the SOE received in connection with these three recall petitions.

• The SOE confirmed it cannot verify what was received by the Fort Meade City Clerk’s office prior to the box being transferred to their office.
• The preliminary count provided to The Citrus Tea News represents the number of signatures received by the SOE and is not an official count but they conducted at least 2 preliminary counts of the signatures received. Signatures must be certified before any official numbers can allow the recall process to move to the next step.
• A Petition Receipt Form documents the chain of custody of the petition materials. That form was started at the SOE’s Bartow headquarters on July 15, 2026, and was transferred by two Polk County Supervisor of Elections staff members under dual control to the Winter Haven Operations Center on the same day. The receiving process was completed on July 16, 2026.
• The SOE is in receipt of The Citrus Tea News’ public records request for copies of the petition signatures and chain-of-custody documentation.

Raul Alfonso and George McNerney said they want answers about the discrepancy and are awaiting the results of the public records request.

Understanding the Recall Process

The Fort Meade Recall Committee completed the first of two rounds required under Florida Statute 100.361 on July 15, 2026. Preliminary numbers show the committee exceeded the 274 signature minimum per seat, however no count is official until the Polk County Supervisor of Elections completes the certification process, which can take up to 30 days.

If the first round is certified, each official named will have five days to file a written defense of no more than 200 words. The committee will then have 60 days to gather a second round of signatures representing 15 percent of qualified electors, or 410 signatures per seat.

If the second round is certified, a recall election must be held within 30 to 60 days. Readers can review Florida Statute 100.361 in full at leg.state.fl.us.

Editor's Note: The information contained in this article was gathered and reported in good faith based on firsthand attendance at the July 18, 2026 protest, direct communications with attendees, city and county officials, written responses from the Polk County Supervisor of Elections Chief of Staff Nathan Register, and a review of publicly available records. The Citrus Tea News made every effort to verify the accuracy of the information presented prior to publication and provided the City of Fort Meade multiple opportunities to respond, clarify, or correct any information before publication. If any information contained in this article is found to be inaccurate or incomplete, The Citrus Tea News will promptly issue a correction or update. Corrections and updates will be noted within the article. Readers with additional information relevant to this reporting are encouraged to contact The Citrus Tea News at [email protected].

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Sources: Nathan Register, Chief of Staff, Polk County Supervisor of Elections, July 16 and 17, 2026; Raul Alfonso, leader, Watchdogs of Fort Meade, and member, Fort Meade Recall Committee, July 17, 2026; George McNerney, Fort Meade resident and plaintiff, July 18, 2026; Michael Bennett, chair, Fort Meade Recall Committee, July 15, 2026; Florida Statute 100.361; Olivia Martin, Interim Deputy City Clerk, City of Fort Meade, July 17, 2026; Chapter 119, Florida Statutes; Florida League of Cities, comment pending; Ridge League of Cities, comment pending