What to Know About Upcoming Plant City and Other Election Deadlines
The deadline to register for the Plant City Municipal Election is March 9. There are three ways to vote for this year’s election. Vote by mail, early voting, and voting on election day. Florida residents must be registered to vote 29 days before an election.
To vote in the 2026 Plant City Election, you must have residency in Plant City to vote in the municipal election for the city.
If you are unsure about where you fall in the city limits you can call the supervisor of elections office at 813- 744-5900. You can also look at a district map or look up your voter information to see your “office holders” that represent you.
Still unsure about your voting status? Now is the time to look up that information. By using the supervisor of elections’ “Voter Information Lookup,” residents can update voter registration information, look at their sample ballot when it’s available, check vote-by-mail requests, find out where to vote, and see activity for the past year.
Early voting will begin on April 3 through April 4 at City Hall. Voting opens at 9:00 a.m. and will continue till 5:00 p.m. Latimer said vote-by-mail ballots can be dropped off at City Hall during the early voting window. Plant City residents will be voting at City Hall on April 7 from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
The deadline to request a vote by mail is March 26. The Domestic Ballots will be mailed starting on March 5, and all voted ballots must be in the supervisor of elections office no later than 7:00 p.m. on election day, April 7.
“These are the people who represent you. These are the most important elections because they are the ones who will fix your potholes and address other local concerns,” said Supervisor of Elections Craig Latimer.
Voters will vote for a city commissioner for Group 3 and a city commissioner for Group 4.
Running for Group 3, taking the seat vacated by Bill Dodson, are Gregory Boyle, Karen Kerr, Tony Smith, and Alicia Kirk Toler. Running for Group 4 for the seat vacated by Mike Sparkman are John Haney, Camryn Henry, Randy Toler, and Maurice D. Wilson Sr. Both Dodson and Sparkman decided not to run for reelection.
“It’s time to start learning and taking the time to educate yourself on who your candidates are. It’s not too late to start,” Latimer said.
For the 2026 Primary Election, the deadline to register or change parties is July 20, 2026. For vote-by-mail, UOCAVA (Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act) ballots will be mailed beginning July 2, domestic ballots will be mailed beginning July 16, and the deadline to request vote-by-mail is August 6. Early voting will be August 3 through August 16, and Election Day is August 18.
The 2026 General Election will be on November 3, with early voting beginning October 19 and running through November 3. The deadline to register is October 5. UOCAVA ballots will be mailed beginning September 18, and domestic ballots beginning October 1. The deadline to request vote by mail is October 22.
EDITOR’S NOTE:
Please note, this week’s paper includes the candidates running for City Commission Group 3. Next week’s paper will include information on the candidates running for City Commission Group 4.
Please research the candidates and get out and vote. The last election for a spot on the Plant City City Commission had only 8.29 percent of those eligible show up at the polls. There were 22,462 registered voters eligible to cast ballots in that election. Only 1,862 showed up.
Get out and vote!
