Communication Builds Our Community
Communication Builds Our Community
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Polk County voters have three easy ways to vote in the Nov. 3 General Election, according to Supervisor of Elections, Lori Edwards. 1. At your Precinct. Polling locations will be open from 7 a.m.- 7 p.m. on Election Day. 2. Vote by Mail. Requests can be made by calling the Elections Office or visiting PolkElections.com. The last day voters can request a mail ballot to be mailed for this election is Saturday, Oct. 24. All mail ballots must be returned to the Supervisor of...
Polk County residents who wish to register to vote in the Nov. 3 General Election must do so by Oct. 5. Voter registration forms may be completed online at PolkElections.com or paper copies are available for pick up at many convenient locations throughout the county. Registered voters are reminded to inform the Elections Office of any voter information changes before Election Day. For more information, please visit PolkElections.com or call the Elections Office at (863)...
With all 167 precincts, early votes and mail in ballots tallied, Lori Edwards has coasted to another term in office, an indication that voters are pleased with how she is running the Supervisor of Elections office. The unofficial results are Edwards with 79,210 votes (77.67 percent) to Debbie Hannifan garnering 22,778 votes (22.33 percent). Edwards was the biggest winner of the night. This is not to say this race was without controversy, as her opponent unsuccessfully...
Florida's Statewide Primary Election is Tuesday, Aug. 18, and Supervisor of Elections Lori Edwards has some helpful tips for Polk County voters. Voters registered with one of Florida's major political parties will help nominate the candidates who will represent their party on the General Election ballot in November. All voters may vote on important local races. Here are tips to make voting smoother: • Bring photo and signature ID to the polls when you vote • The polls are ope...
Eligible voters may vote in advance of the Aug. 18 Statewide Primary Election at nine convenient locations around Polk County. Early voting in Lake Wales will be at the James P. Austin Community Center, 315 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd N. Early voting begins Aug. 3 and continues through Aug. 15, and will be open from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. daily. Any eligible Polk County voter may cast a ballot at any Early Voting location. Other early voting locations include: Bartow - Polk...
Polk County voters have until Saturday, Aug. 8 to submit a request for a ballot to be mailed for the Aug. 18 Statewide Primary Election. Requests for mail ballots can be made by contacting the Elections Office at (863) 534-5888 or online at PolkElections.com. "No stamp is necessary to return the ballot as the return postage is pre-paid," said Supervisor of Elections Lori Edwards. Mail ballots may be returned by mail or dropped off to the Supervisor of Elections Office until 7...
Polk Supervisor of Elections Lori Edwards has confirmed "a very small handful of people" have reported problems with their vote by mail return envelopes being sealed shut. Lance Muse contacted LakeWalesNews.net concerned that his vote might not be counted if he repaired the torn envelope with tape. He said his return envelope was totally sealed shut and he could not use it without damaging the seal. He said his wife's ballot was partially sealed shut but they were able to get...
Lori Edwards, Polk County Supervisor of Elections, reminds voters that there is something for everyone to vote on in the upcoming Aug. 18 election. The Statewide Primary Election ballot includes important non-partisan races. Additionally, members of the Democratic and Republican parties will have the opportunity to choose the candidates representing their party in the November General Election. Florida is a closed primary state. According to Florida law, voters wishing to...
A blue-ribbon committee of residents will spend the next few months reviewing the Lake Wales charter – the document that details how the city is governed – with an eye towards putting any suggested changes in front of voters next spring. The five-person group will conduct all its meetings publicly, and ultimately can only suggest changes. Those suggestions are then considered by the current city commission, and then go on the ballot if they give them a thumbs up. The com...
Qualifying ended Friday, June 12 and four of the five Polk County constitutional officers – Sheriff Grady Judd, Clerk of the Court Stacy Butterfield, Property Appraiser Marsha Faux and Tax Collector Joe Tedder were re-elected without opposition. Twenty-year incumbent Supervisor of Elections Lori Edwards will face challenger Debbie Hannifan, a Lakeland Realtor, in the nonpartisan race. Listing no party affiliation, Martin Grenfell qualified to challenge two-term incumbent Distr...
Five days before the April 7 city election, 1,041 Lake Wales citizens had returned their vote by mail ballots. That's about 41 percent of the 2,541 who requested ballots to vote by mail and 82 percent of the total 1,275 who voted by mail in the 2019 city election. Only one race will be decided Tuesday, Seat 5 between incumbent Commissioner Robin Gibson and challenger Bob Wood. Although the Seat 3 race will appear on the ballot, votes won't count because incumbent Commissioner...
The City of Lake Wales continues to be under a declared State of Emergency by Mayor Fultz. There is no curfew at this time. As Covid-19 updates for Florida's residents continue daily, many City of Lake Wales staff have begun working from home, while others continue to work within the City of Lake Wales Municipal Administration Building, 201 West Central Avenue and other facilities. The Lake Wales Municipal Administration Building remains closed to residents and customers until...
Lake Wales area voters chose Democrat Joe Biden and Republican Donald Trump as their party candidates for president March 17, with totals that closely mirrored preferences in Polk County and the State of Florida. Just under 85,000 Polk County residents voted in the March 17 Presidential Preference Primary, making voter turnout slightly less than 27 percent. Polk Supervisor of Elections Lori Edwards said turnout was about 13 percentage points less than she expected, but given...
Just under 316,000 Polk County residents are eligible to vote Tuesday, March 17 in Florida's Presidential Preference Primary. As of the Feb. 18 registration deadline, Polk had 160,589 Republicans and 155,335 Democrats. Florida is a closed primary state so those registered as independents or with no party affiliation are not eligible to vote in the primaries, which are held to help major parties select their candidates for president. As of Jan. 31, Florida had 4,793,897...
As the 2020 elections take shape, one race for circuit court has drawn the interest of a prominent civil, family and general law attorney from Lake Wales. Attorney Cassandra L. Denmark filed as a candidate for the 10th Judicial Circuit, Group 19 seat now held by Judge John Radabaugh. "If given the opportunity, I assure I will serve with integrity, respect and fairness," Denmark said in announcing her candidacy. Denmark has practiced law in the state for 18 years. Prior to...
Greg Massey says he won't withdraw as a candidate for Lake Wales City Commission despite the likelihood he is ineligible to run because he never had his voting rights restored after felony convictions for second degree murder and armed burglary. "As it stands right now, until the supervisor of elections says I can't run, I'm moving ahead," Massey said. The city charter requires candidates to be registered voters and city residents for at least one year. Massey, 56, moved to...
The four candidates in the April 7 Lake Wales City Commission election will answer questions and meet the public at a forum on Monday, March 16. The candidate forum is being sponsored by the Lake Wales Area Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Council, the Lake Wales Arts Council, Rotary on the Ridge and LakeWalesNews.net. Candidates will set up tables with campaign literature and meet informally with attendees during a reception starting at 5:30 p.m. in the Michael...
Lake Wales City Commissioner Terrye Howell has been declared re-elected for another 3-year term following the withdrawal of her opponent Greg Massey. Massey submitted a signed statement to Lake Wales City Clerk Jennifer Nanek Tuesday, March 10 indicating his decision to end his campaign. It is possible Massey would have been ruled ineligible to run since he had a felony conviction for second degree murder and hadn't had his voting rights restored. City officials were awaiting...
Sample ballots for the March 17 Presidential Preference Primary Election are available online at PolkElections.com. The upcoming election is open to voters registered with the Democratic or Republican parties who will choose their nominee for the presidential election in November. As of Feb. 26 Polk County had 160,551 registered Republicans and 155,399 registered Democrats. The 128,569 Polk voters who are registered with minor parties or no party affiliation are not permitted...
As the nation struggles to train enough cybersecurity experts and analysts to fill a shortage that has grown by 50% since 2015, four Polk County colleges are offering courses and degrees to help prepare students for this growing field. In the next two years, about half a million cybersecurity jobs will remain unfilled, according to the Principles for Growing and Sustaining the Nation's Cybersecurity Workforce. Around the world, that number could reach 3 million, according to...
Polk Supervisor of Elections Lori Edwards is thrilled that Florida has joined a consortium of states to clean up voter lists to reduce the potential for fraud. "This is something I have been advocating for about five years," said Edwards. By joining the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC), Edwards said Florida supervisors now will be able to cross-check their voter rolls against those of other states. The issue is especially important to Florida because of the...
Florida Senate Minority Leader Audrey Gibson fired up members of the Lake Wales NAACP Saturday June 15 with a rousing call to be bold, to vote and to make sure others vote. The Jacksonville Democrat was keynote speaker for Branch 5109's 46th Annual Freedom Fund Banquet. Gibson has been in the Florida Legislature since 2002, the first eight years as a Representative, and the last eight as a Senator. Since it was Father's Day weekend, Gibson brought her dad, Ernest Gibson, to...
Supervisor of Elections Lori Edwards will discuss restoration of felons' voting rights, redistricting and other voting issues at the April 17 meeting of Polk County Tiger Bay. The luncheon buffet opens at 11:45 a.m. and the meeting begins at noon at the Bartow Civic Center, 2250 S. Floral Ave. Florida Amendment 4, also the Voting Rights Restoration for Felons Initiative, is an amendment to the Constitution of Florida passed by ballot initiative on November 6, 2018, as part of...
Polk County Supervisor of Elections Lori Edwards wants college students to know they have until March 29 to apply for one of three $1,200 scholarships to be awarded by the Florida State Association of Supervisors of Elections in 2019. Applicants must be: - Registered to vote in the State of Florida - A Citizen of the United States - Enrolled as a full-time student in a senior college or university in Florida - Majoring in Political Science/Public or Business Administration or...
In its efforts to get more voters to the polls this November, the Democrat Party moved its headquarters to a more centrally located place in Polk County. On Feb 2 the local political party had an open house at 1549 E. Combee Road in Lakeland moving from Haines City. "This is wonderful," said Polk state committeewoman Karen Welzel. "This is the beginning of what we'll turn in Polk County." About 100 people attended the opening of the office in Polk and Chair and the Executive...
