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Welcome to VoxPopuli's Guide to the Sept. 2 Special Elections for Florida Senate District 15 and House District 40.
These are off-year elections, so before jumping into the candidate profiles, let's just take a quick moment to remember how we got here and why voters from these districts — which span from Oakland, Winter Garden, Ocoee and Windermere to Apopka, College Park, Maitland and parts of Dr. Phillips and Orlando — are electing a new state senator and representative.
These special elections were precipitated by the February death of long-serving Democratic State Sen. Geraldine F. Thompson, who was re-elected to represent Senate District 15 last year. After her death, Thompson’s frequent legislative partner, State Rep. LaVon Bracy Davis announced, in March, that she would run for Thompson’s open senate seat.
That left two open seats that required special elections to fill.
Primaries were held June 24. On the Democratic side, Bracy Davis bested three other candidates to win the Senate District 15 nomination with 43 percent of the vote. In the House District 40 race, RaShon Young captured the nomination with 55.44 percent of the vote. On the Republican side, only one candidate qualified for each race, and so they became the de facto nominees: Tuan Le in House District 40 and Willie J. Montague in Senate District 15.
To assemble this voting guide, VoxPopuli staff interviewed each of the candidates to get their takes on the relevant issues. We also run background checks on candidates and fact check their statements to the best of our ability. While some interviews were done before the passage of the Republicans’ Big Beautiful Bill; the ramp-up of mass deportations; and the new fight over redrawing existing districts ahead of next year’s midterm elections, we made every effort to go back to candidates to ask follow-up questions about those issues to update the candidate profiles.
Profiles were written by contributing reporters Kathryn Brudzinski and Andrea Charur and Norine Dworkin, editor in chief. For questions or comments, email info@wintergardenvox.com.
Voting by mail makes casting a ballot in the June 24 Democratic Primary election very convenient. But first, you need to REQUEST YOUR MAIL-IN BALLOT by AUG. 21.
Since all vote-by-mail requests expire after each federal election cycle, if you had a vote-by-mail ballot for the 2024 elections, you will need to request another one. To request your ballot, call the Orange County Supervisor of Elections office at 407-836-VOTE, visit the site, or download and complete the Vote-By Mail Written Request Form (DS-DE 160) and either mail it back or drop it off at the OCSE office.
Once you make your request, you'll receive your ballot in the mail. You can also pick up a mail-in ballot yourself or you can designate someone to pick it up for you. Find designee pick-up forms and affidavits at OCSE.
Once you complete your ballot, return it to the Supervisor of Elections Office at 119 Kaley Street in Orlando. Your ballot needs to be at the Supervisor of Elections Office by 7 p.m. on SEPT. 2 for it to be counted. Remember to sign the envelop.
Then, sign up for BallotTrax to receive email or text updates about the status of your ballot from printing to mail-out to acceptance.
Signatures can change because of age, injury, arthritis. It’s easy to update your signature with a new voter registration application. Mismatched signatures are one of the main reasons that mail-in ballots don't get counted. Update yours here to ensure your vote counts. Mail-in ballots with missing signatures on the outside envelop also won’t don’t get counted. Fortunately, voters have two days after the election to “cure” their ballots with this affidavit.
Early voting for the Special Elections will take place Aug. 23-31, daily, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at these locations:
Apopka Community Center
519 S. Central Ave, Apopka
Eatonville Town Hall
307 E. Kennedy Blvd., Eatonville
Supervisor of Elections Office
119 W. Kaley St., Orlando
West Oaks Library
1821 E. Silver Star Rd., Ocoee
If you are in line by 6 p.m., YOU CAN VOTE. You’ll need ID with a photo and signature. Accepted forms include: valid Florida driver’s license, U.S. passport, debit/credit card, student or military ID, public assistance ID, Florida firearms license. (If your ID only has a photo, bring a second one with an updated signature.) Early voting locations will have Spanish translators and ADA-compliant voting equipment for those who need it. For more information, visit the Orange County Supervisor of Elections website.
Completed mail-in ballots can be dropped off at the Supervisor of Elections Office at 119 Kaley Street in Orlando by 7 p.m. on SEPT. 2. On Election Day, mail ballots can only be dropped off at the Supervisor of Elections Office. You can designate someone to drop your mail-in ballot off for you. To avoid the appearance of “ballot harvesting,” designees are limited to two ballots with just one for a non-family member.
Returning citizens who have completed their sentences and paid all fines and fees or completed community service in lieu of payment can get their voting rights restored (except for those convicted of murder or felony sex offenses).
That said, voting eligibility can still be challenging to figure out as those who believed they were eligible to vote in the 2020 election only to be arrested by Gov. Ron DeSantis’s election police discovered. The Formerly Incarcerated Convicted People & Families Movement’s “Can I Vote?” tool may help returning citizens determine if they can vote in the 2025 elections.
