It’s been a while since we heard from the members of our 2026 Voter Insight Panel, a group of Central Floridians who we convene from time to time to talk about what’s shaping their lives and their votes in this midterm election year.
Anna Ashie, Jaydon Souza, Sean Roberts, and Alison Yurko vary in age and politics as the group is made up of Republicans, Democrats, and NPAs.
As the 2026 election gets closer, we're asking what's changed for them, what they're paying attention to, and what they're worried about.
Top concerns
For Alison Yurko, a 63-year-old attorney from Winter Park who describes herself as a “Rule of Law Republican,” one of her biggest concerns is what she sees as a loss of experienced leadership at the Department of Defense.
“I've been really concerned about these generals that are resigning. It seems like the handful of credible, really good people that we had left are gone now, and that's extremely troubling to me.”
Yurko says having experienced and qualified leadership at the Department of Defense is particularly important given current events around the world.
For Jaydon Souza, a 21-year-old mechanic in St. Cloud who is undecided politically, the issue that immediately comes to mind is how much we're being watched.
“The major thing that I'm concerned about currently is the amount of surveillance,” he said.
Shared concerns about surveillance
Amid privacy concerns, the Florida Department of Transportation set a September 30 deadline for all Automated License Plate Reader cameras, including Flock, to be removed from state roads. That order cites growing concerns over misuse, data privacy, and surveillance. Every member of the panel expressed concerns about the technology.
Sean Roberts, a 55-year-old Orlando Republican, said he sees potential benefits in situations such as locating a missing child or investigating human trafficking but believes routine, everyday use raises privacy concerns.
Alison Yurko agrees but believes widespread data collection has already become part of everyday life.
“I mean, every time you order something with a QR code, they're getting your data,” she said.
Anna Ashie, a 40-year-old Democrat who lives in Orlando’s Parramore community, also opposes the cameras. She points to reports of law enforcement officers using license plate reader systems to track former partners or others for personal reasons.
“It feels very Big Brother,” she said.
AI and opposition to data centers
The concerns about cameras are part of a bigger conversation about how technology is changing life. Another issue that's getting a lot of attention is the rapid growth of AI data centers that power artificial intelligence. Communities are debating the scale of these facilities, the costs, and the potential payoffs. Ashie doesn’t want to be near one.
“I also am very opposed to the number of data centers that are going up, especially when we in Florida have real concern for our water supply,” she said. “It feels like big tech is being prioritized over the people.”
Jaydon Souza shares concerns, but also points out a complication.
“Despite people saying that they don't want them, they still heavily use AI and other means and tools that rely on those data centers,” he said.
Yurko’s bigger concern involves government regulation.
“The tech industry has infiltrated our government,” she said. “As far as I can tell, there's no real coordinated effort to reign in AI.”
Panel divided on property taxes
While the group agreed in many ways over concerns about surveillance, when the topic shifted to property taxes, they had a very different conversation.
Anna Ashie and Sean Roberts both identify the property tax overhaul on the ballot as a top issue of concern. They disagree about what would happen if Amendment 3 passes.
Roberts says the property tax overhaul would return money to homeowners and make local governments more efficient.
“What's happening is that government officials are spending the money. They're spending more than what they say that they have. We're pinpointing corruption. We're pinpointing money being overspent,” he said.
Roberts supports the amendment.
Ashie opposes the amendment and has concerns that municipalities won’t be able to replace lost revenue.
“My concerns are not just for Orange County, but statewide. You have a lot of smaller municipalities that are saying they would not be able to fund their fire departments, they would not be able to fund basic things that they would not have an alternate source of revenue,” she said.
Ashie also worries about the potential impact on other services.
“Our roads, our water, our infrastructure is funded, and I think that taking away the ability for our local governments to have funds to manage a growing community is concerning for me without an alternative,” she said.
