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Election Official Warns Voters Against Florida Governor Race Overvotes
August 16, 2026
One race on primary ballots across the state is causing some confusion among voters.
Both the Democratic and Republican ballots say “Governor and Lieutenant Governor (Vote for One).”
Some voters are marking two choices, perhaps thinking one is for governor and the second is for lieutenant governor.
On the Democratic ballot, only David Jolly has picked a running mate for lieutenant governor, with Gwen Graham indented and listed under Jolly’s name. On the Republican ballot, there are no candidates named and listed for lieutenant governor.
If voters choose two on either ballot, it’s an “overvote,” and voting machines will alert on the error. Voters will be able to fill out a new ballot, or let it stand in which case the double vote for governor will not be counted but other races on the ballot will.
“We had about one or two per early voting site on the first day,” Escambia County Supervisor of Elections Robert Bender said. Those voters were able to choose a replacement ballot. “The problem lies with the vote-by-mail ballots that will be marked as an overvote.”
Bender said voters should be aware that only one vote should be cast for the races labeled “Governor and Lieutenant Governor (Vote for One).” And he said that he does not believe it will be a big problem.
Sample ballot image.
Comments
3 Responses to “Election Official Warns Voters Against Florida Governor Race Overvotes”
the first time I saw this, I thought it was confusing…be prepared for a bunch of disputed votes!
Regarding my previous comment, I meant to add that the ballot question is poorly written. Since the Lt. Governor isn’t an elected position, it doesn’t belong on the ballot to begin with.
The ballot clearly says “Vote for One”. Can’t be any more clear than that. If people don’t understand that Lt Governors are selected by the Governor, not by voters, then perhaps they need to work on becoming better informed voters.