Gainesville, Florida Public Records

Florida residents can register to vote online at registertovoteflorida.gov using a Florida driver license or ID card, by mail using a voter registration application, or in person at the Supervisor of Elections office, any Florida driver license office, or other designated voter registration agencies. The registration deadline is 29 days before any election. To register, applicants must be U.S. citizens, Florida residents, at least 18 years old by election day, and not currently adjudicated mentally incapacitated or convicted of a felony without restoration of voting rights. Municipal elections for Mayor and City Commission take place in March of odd-numbered years on a nonpartisan basis. The city has seven City Commissioners representing single-member districts plus an at-large Mayor. The next municipal elections are scheduled for March 2025, with candidate qualifying typically in December preceding the election. Information about city candidates, campaign finance reports, and local ballot measures is available at gainesvillefl.gov/city-commission and through the Supervisor of Elections office. Residents also participate in county, state, and federal elections. To find their assigned polling place, voters can use the precinct finder tool at votealachua.gov or call the elections office. Early voting is offered at multiple locations countywide for approximately two weeks before each election, including evenings and weekends. Vote-by-mail ballots (absentee ballots) can be requested online at votealachua.gov, by phone, by mail, or in person; requests are valid through the end of the calendar year in which two general elections have occurred. Florida law allows any registered voter to vote by mail without providing a reason. In the November 2024 presidential election, Alachua County reported approximately 62% voter turnout, with roughly 125,000 ballots cast out of approximately 200,000 registered voters; Alachua County favored Democratic candidates by a substantial margin, consistent with its status as a college-town county. The November 3, 2026 general election will feature races for Governor of Florida (Ron DeSantis term-limited), one U.S. Senate seat (Marco Rubio's seat is up), all Florida Cabinet positions (Attorney General, Chief Financial Officer, Commissioner of Agriculture), Florida House of Representatives District 21 and other legislative seats covering Gainesville, Alachua County Commission seats (Districts 2 and 4 on four-year staggered terms), Alachua County School Board, judicial retention votes for circuit and county judges, and potentially constitutional amendments referred by the legislature. Public election records in Florida include voter registration lists (available for purchase for political purposes), campaign finance reports searchable at dos.myflorida.com/elections for state and county races and at gainesvillefl.gov for city races, candidate financial disclosures, precinct-level election results, and all provisional ballot determinations.