All residents of Okaloosa County, including people in the cities of Niceville and Valparaiso – as well as people in the unincorporated county and on Eglin Air Force Base – are eligible to vote in all countywide elections. These offices vary in their responsibilities: The Board of Commissioners passes laws and budgets, the sheriff enforces the law, and so on. The following ten positions make up what are called ‘constitutional offices:’
These offices were created by the charter the State of Florida gave the county when it was formed in 1915 and cannot be destroyed without the consent of the State Legislature. All ten of these positions are known as ‘partisan positions’. This means candidates may declare a political party affiliation and compete in primaries against other members of the same party and general elections against members of different parties to win the position.
Other offices only in the county include the Okaloosa County School Board, which consists of five members, and the Okaloosa County Superintendent of Schools.
Like the constitutional offices in Okaloosa County, The Office of the Superintendent is a partisan position, meaning that you can have a Republican or Democratic superintendent. Most school districts in the State of Florida (41) have elected superintendents, according to the Florida School Boards Association. The other 26 districts have appointed superintendents who can be hired and fired by the school board.
The five Okaloosa County School Board members are the only countywide officials not elected in partisan elections. This means people who wish to run for school board cannot declare a party affiliation when they run. (You can’t run as a Republican or Democrat).
All residents of Okaloosa County who are not barred from voting in general (due to a felony conviction or determination by a court that they are mentally incapacitated) can vote in these elections.