JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The last day to vote is November 8th. Many voters have already seen their sample ballots.
We had a First Coast News viewer look at his and ask why every race has the Republican candidate listed first. He worries it will create an unfair election.
Let's verify.
QUESTION
Is my Florida ballot supposed to list Republican candidates first?
SOURCES:
- Duval County Supervisor of Elections Mike Hogan
- Florida statute 101.151
- The Tallahassee Democrat
ANSWER
Yes, for state and federal candidates.
WHAT WE FOUND
Ken Grady wrote into First Coast News saying “If you check the current ballot you will notice the candidates are not in alphabetical order for statewide elections. It hard to believe this was done in error, especially since the republican candidates are on the top of each voting section. Has our election process really made it to this point?”
We can verify this is mostly true except for the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Race on Duval ballots, which has the Democratic candidate first.
“For every Federal and State race, that the sitting Governor’s party is listed first," Mike Hogan said.
Republicans running for state or federal offices will be listed first on the ballots in Florida. It’s the law listed in statute 101.151.
The law says "The names of the candidates of the party that received the highest number of votes for Governor in the last election in which a Governor was elected shall be placed first for each office on the general election ballot, together with an appropriate abbreviation of the party name; the names of the candidates of the party that received the second highest vote for Governor shall be placed second for each office, together with an appropriate abbreviation of the party name."
The law has been challenged, though. A federal judge once ruled it unconstitutional, which was later overturned.
According to this Tallahassee Democrat article from 2019, a political scientist analyzed Florida elections from 1978 through 2016. His data shows quote “first-listed candidates have historically gained an average advantage of 5 percentage points due to their ballot position.”
Cities have different laws.
“The city of Jacksonville’s charter is the ballot order is alphabetical," Hogan explained.
That's why Lakesha Burton is listed above TK Waters for the Jacksonville Sheriff race.
Rest assured your ballot is correct.