Lee Elections Office begins sending mail ballots
Military and overseas ballots have gone out; local-request sends to start next week
Vote-by-mail ballots for the Nov. 3 General Election will start to hit Southwest Florida mailboxes next week.
The Lee County Elections Office is gearing up to mail out the initial batch of domestic vote-by-mail ballots on Sept. 29. Military and overseas vote-by-mail ballots went out on Sept. 18.
“We’re also ensuring our poll workers are thoroughly trained for the upcoming election; the first training class begins (Thursday),” said Lee County Supervisor of Elections Jenna Persons-Mulicka. “Our team is also gearing up for the public Logic and Accuracy Testing of the voting machines, scheduled for Oct. 9.”
As for the primary, Persons-Mulicka called it “successful.”
“Many of our voters reached out to let us know that they had a great voting experience,” she said. “We are not looking at making any major changes to the process. Voters will experience the same for the general as well.”
For those looking to secure a vote-by-mail ballot, the deadline to make a request for the General Election is 5 p.m. on Oct. 22. The deadline to register to vote for the General Election is Oct. 5.
When it comes to the number of voters who cast their ballot via mail, Persons-Mulicka said Lee County has seen a slight decline in voting by mail over the last few election cycles, however, it remains a popular method of voting for the majority of voters.
As for the security of vote-by-mail ballots, Persons-Mulicka said, “Voters can be confident that their votes are secure and will be counted accurately. Every returned ballot undergoes signature verification before it can be counted. Our office also maintains a record of every vote-by-mail ballot requested, mailed, received, and tabulated, and voters can track their ballot status on our website.”
Persons-Mulicka said voting by mail is one of the three voting methods available to voters in Florida.
The others are early voting and voting on Election Day.
“It is essential to our election process and a convenient way for many of our voters to cast their ballots, including, but not limited to, voters with disabilities, as well as our military and overseas voters,” she said.
The Early Voting period for the General Election runs daily from 10 a.m. through 6 p.m. Oct. 19-31.
Race information for the General Election includes:
Cape Coral City Council
There are four council seats up for grabs in November. All races are at large and non-partisan meaning voters may cast a ballot no matter the district in which they live.
• Cape Coral Mayor: Lisa Cohen-Adkinson and Rick Erickson
• District 1: Dave Newton and Tom Shadrach
• District 4: Incumbent Jennifer Nelson-Lastra and James Vargas
• District 6: Liza King and Annette Warren
More information on the Cape Coral City Council races, including candidate responses to Questions of the Week, may be found on The Breeze website under Election 2026.
Lee County Board of County Commissioners
There are two races on the ballot. The races are at large meaning voters may cast a ballot no matter the district in which they live.
• District 2: Incumbent Cecil Pendergrass (R) and Elliot Taylor (D)
• District 4: Incumbent Brian Hamman (R) and DeMaria “Princess” Artis (NPA)
Lee County School Board
There are two races on the General Election ballot. The two seats are by district meaning voters may cast a ballot only in the district in which they live.
The races are non-partisan.
• District 4: Incumbent Debbie Jordan and Tony Beougher
• District 5: Incumbent Armor Persons and Crystal Johnson
Incumbent Sam Fisher, District 1, won his seat outright in the primary as did Jada Langford-Fleming, who retained her seat in District 6, an at-large seat.
Lee County Supervisor of Elections
• Incumbent Jenna Persons-Mulicka (R) and Chris Vignieri (D)
United States Senator
• Ashley Moody (R); Angie Nixon (D); and Neil J. Gillespie (NPA)
District 19 Representative in Congress
• Jim Schwartzel (R) and Victor Arias (D)
Governor
• Byron Donalds (R); David Jolly (D); Scott Eckhard Jewett (LPF); Charles Burkett (NPA); Frank J. Russo (NPA); Moliere “Moe” Dimanche (NPA); Dean Ocean Abrams (NPA); and Jeffrey Peter “Dr. Jeff” Datto (NPA)
District 17 Representative in Congress
• Incumbent Greg Stube (R); Matthew Montavon (D); and Michael J. Quirk (NPA)
Commissioner of Agriculture
• Wilton Simpson (R) and Joey Mendoza Atkins (D)
Attorney General
• Incumbent James Uthmeier (R) and Jose Javier Rodriguez (D)
Chief Financial Officer
• Incumbent Blaise Ingoglia (R) and Annette Taddeo (D)
To reach CJ HADDAD, please email cjhaddad@breezenewspapers.com