ELECTIONS

Supervisor Bender: August 18 Election Will Decide Mayor, School Board, Superintendent Question for Most Voters

Escambia County’s Supervisor of Elections says a 75% no-show rate in 2024 is the number he wants to change. With six mayoral candidates, two school board races per district, and the elected-vs-appointed superintendent referendum all settled in August, there’s no reason to sit it out.

Escambia County Supervisor of Elections Robert Bender joined Rick’s Blog Live to walk through what voters need to know before the August 18 election. He pointed out that for most Escambia County voters, August 18 isn’t a primary. It’s the whole ballot.

• “I’m more referring this instead of calling it a primary, just the August 18th election, because final decisions will be made,” Bender said.

Why August 18 Matters More Than November This Year

Bender ticked through the races that will be fully decided in August, regardless of party:

• School Board, Districts 1, 2 and 3 — nonpartisan races with two candidates each. Whoever gets more votes wins outright in August; there is no November rematch.
• Superintendent referendum — the question of whether Escambia County keeps an appointed superintendent or returns to an elected one will be decided August 18, full stop.
• City of Pensacola mayor — six candidates have qualified. Bender noted that four years ago, DC Reeves cleared 50% of the vote in August and was declared the winner without the race going to November. “That could happen again,” he said.

“If you want to have a say on who the next mayor is, cast a vote in the August eighteenth election.”

Bender’s emphasis throughout the conversation was turnout. He pointed to the 2024 August election, when 75% of registered voters did not show up.

• “We want to get that number down and the turnout up,” he said, noting that an open gubernatorial race could help drive turnout the way it did in the last cycle, when an open seat pushed turnout to 61%, up roughly ten points from the low-50s norm.

Key Dates Between Now and the Election

Florida is a closed-primary state, so voters need to be registered with a party by the July 20 deadline to get a ballot specific to that party for partisan races. Bender noted the state does allow 16- and 17-year-olds to pre-register, so they’re automatically eligible to vote as soon as they turn 18—even if their birthday falls within the 29-day registration window before the election.

Vote-by-Mail Security Changes Voters Should Know About

Bender flagged a wrinkle that’s tripped some voters up since the last general election: all vote-by-mail requests were wiped clean after the 2024 general election. Many voters renewed those requests during the 2025 special elections, but Bender said the numbers are still running lower than his office would like, and reminders have gone out.

Under House Bill 991, requesting a new vote-by-mail ballot now requires a driver’s license number or the last four digits of a Social Security number for verification. Bender also recommended voters double-check their voter registration any time they renew a driver’s license, since a new license can affect what’s on file—and signature updates matter too.

“If you’re doing vote by mail, update your signature. Make sure that you have a current signature on file so that way when we get the ballot we can match it and make sure your vote gets counted.”

Starting in January, Bender said his office expects the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to send updated voter information directly, regardless of whether a voter actively opts in. For now, he advises voters renewing a license to simply check the box to update their registration.

Early Voting Flexibility, Election Day Rules

One of the more practical points from the interview: early voting locations don’t care where you live in the county. Voters can go to any of the 10 early voting sites, drop off a vote-by-mail ballot at a secure intake station there, or bring it to the Supervisor of Elections office—regardless of home precinct. That flexibility disappears on Election Day itself, when state statute requires voters to go to their home precinct.

Bender said his office uses ballot-on-demand printing at early voting sites, which functions similarly to Election Day voting: a ballot is printed, the voter marks it, and it goes into the tabulator on site.

• Voters can register, check their registration status, or request a vote-by-mail ballot at EscambiaVotes.gov. The qualifying period for the August 18 election has closed; all candidates are now set, and early voting runs August 8–15 ahead of Election Day on August 18.