No Matter The Party, Every Polk County Registered Voter Has a Say Aug. 18
Every registered voter in Polk County, regardless of party, can cast a ballot in the County Commission District 2 race on Aug. 18, and because no other candidate qualified, that primary decides the seat outright. Voters of every party will also decide three non-partisan school board seats and two non-partisan circuit judge races on the same ballot.
Florida is a closed primary state, meaning voters can normally only cast ballots in their own party’s primary contests. The state constitution carves out one exception. When every candidate for an office has the same party affiliation and the winner will face no opposition in the general election, the primary opens to all registered voters. Election officials call it a universal primary contest.
That is the situation in District 2. Incumbent Rick Wilson and challenger Kelly Quinn are both registered Republicans, and no candidate from another party and no write-in candidate qualified for the seat before the June 12 deadline. With no November contest to follow, the Aug. 18 primary decides who holds the office for the next four years.
The race is also countywide. Polk County commissioners must live in the district they represent, but they are elected at large, meaning voters everywhere in the county cast ballots in every district’s election. District 2 covers southern Polk County, including parts of Bartow, Mulberry, Lake Wales, Fort Meade and Frostproof, but a voter in Davenport or Winter Haven has the same say as a voter in Bartow.
Polk County has 450,579 active registered voters heading into this election. All of them are eligible to vote in the District 2 contest.
Turnout in Polk County primaries runs well below general election levels. In 2022, 23.48 percent of registered voters cast ballots in the August primary, compared with 49.74 percent that November.
The District 2 commission race is not the only contest open to every voter. Nonpartisan races appear on all ballots regardless of party affiliation, and this year that includes Polk County School Board Districts 3, 5 and 6, along with two contested judicial races in the 10th Judicial Circuit, which covers Polk, Hardee and Highlands counties. Lakeisha Latoya Babers faces Chris P. Spath in Group 23, and Andrea DeMichael faces Candice Dixon in Group 24. School board members must live in the district they represent, but like county commissioners, they are elected countywide, so every Polk County voter casts a ballot in all three school board contests.
Early voting runs through Saturday, Aug. 15, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at 10 locations countywide, and any registered voter may use any site. On Election Day, Tuesday, Aug. 18, polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at assigned precincts.
Voters who want to confirm what appears on their ballot can look up their sample ballot through the Polk County Supervisor of Elections at polkelections.gov.
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Sources: “What’s On Your August Ballot? A Polk County Voter’s Guide To The 2026 Primary,” The Citrus Tea News, thecitrustea.com, June 24, 2026; Polk County Supervisor of Elections, polkelections.gov, August 9, 2026; Article VI, Section 5(b), Constitution of the State of Florida; Polk County Profile, Polk County Government, polkfl.gov; Polk County Charter, polkfl.gov; “2022 Primary Election,” Polk County Supervisor of Elections, enr.electionsfl.org; Primary Sample Compilation Ballot, Polk County Supervisor of Elections, polkelections.gov; “Dozens of trial court races set for August primary,” The Florida Bar, floridabar.org, May 2026
