Early voting is underway in the race for two open legislative seats Senate District 15 and House District 40 ahead of a special election slated for Sept. 2.
Both Orange County seats are up for grabs following the death of State Sen. Geraldine Thompson in February. Thompson served in the Florida Legislature as both a Senator and Representative for 19 years.
The vacant seat in State Senate District 15 caused a shuffle in representation after current District 40 Representative LaVon Bracy Davis announced plans to run for Thompson’s Senate seat – vacating her own State House seat.
Bracy Davis, who had been endorsed by Thompson before her death, defeated two other candidates in the Democratic primary. She faces Republican Willie Montague, who was the only member of his party to qualify, giving him the GOP nomination for the special election outright.
Contrary to a mistaken sample ballot sent out to voters that listed the wrong Democratic candidate in House District 40, Democrat RaShon Young will be on the ballot. Orange County Supervisor of Elections said the faulty ballots reached over 88,000 residents, and that the issue has since been corrected by sending a Notice of Printing Error to those who received an incorrect ballot.
Young, a former aide to Bracy Davis, won the Democratic primary by over 10 percentage points. He faces Republican Tuan Le, a former congressional candidate.
Early voting is underway at the following locations: the Apopka Community Center, Supervisor of Elections, Town of Eatonville Town Hall and West Oaks Library. Early voting will run until Aug. 31, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. Secure Ballot Intake Stations are available outside of all voting locations.
Special Election Day will take place Tuesday, Sept. 2. Designated polling locations will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. for residents to cast their votes.
