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There are six places you can vote early, according to the Okaloosa County Supervisor of Elections Website.
Early voting sites open to the public are:
Okaloosa Supervisor of Elections Headquarters Office, 302 N Wilson St, Ste 102, Crestview
Okaloosa County Administration Building, 1250 Eglin Pkwy, Ste 102, Shalimar (Board of County Commissioner Chambers)
Crestview Community Center, 1446 Commerce Dr, Crestview
Destin Community Center, 101 Stahlman Ave, Destin
Niceville Community Center, 204-C N Partin Dr, Niceville.
Ft Walton Beach Recreation Center, 132 Jet Dr NW, Fort Walton Beach
You can turn in your vote-by-mail ballot in person if you’d like as well. Click here for more info on that.
ON ELECTION DAY:
You cannot vote anywhere except at your designated polling location. You can find your designated polling location here:
Mid Bay News’s Christopher Saul interviewed Okaloosa GOP Precinct 33 Committeeman Mo Young and Okaloosa Democratic Executive Committee Chairman Davey Jones about the bottom-of-the-ballot amendments and referenda.
We also spoke with Nathan Sparks of One Okaloosa EDC, who is in favor of the Tax Exemption on the November Ballot and Okaloosa County Commissioner District Three who opposes it.
A special note: We reached out to Davey Jones, the Okaloosa County Democratic Party leader about a video interview. He declined a video interview and explained to us that he would give us a phone interview of 15 minutes. For this reason, we do not have a video interview with him, but do have one with Mo Young.
This amendment would change school board races from non=partisan (candidates cannot declare a party) to partisan (where candidates declare a party and there is a primary election.) This would move a deciding election from the summer to the fall ballots, which would mean more voters would see it, as there are far larger turnouts for general elections when compared to primary elections.
PARTISAN ELECTION OF MEMBERS OF DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARDS.— Proposing amendments to the State Constitution to require members of a district school board to be elected in a partisan election rather than a nonpartisan election and to specify that the amendment only applies to elections held on or after the November 2026 general election. However, partisan primary elections may occur before the 2026 general election for purposes of nominating political party candidates to that office for placement on the 2026 general election ballot.
Would change school board elections from non-partisan (candidates cannot declare their party affiliation) elections to partisan (candidates can declare a party affiliation and may have to run in primaries) elections
Would keep local school board elections the same. Candidates could not declare a party affiliation, and they would be elected in the summer primary election.
On the changes to school board elections, Mo explained that the Republican Party supports this amendment as it allows voters to see candidates’ party affiliations, which can help inform their votes. “By doing this, [the public] has a greater participation by the voters as they select a school board member,” Young said.
In the August, 2024 primaries – 24.45% of registered voters turned out to cast a ballot. In the 2020 General Election for president, 78.24% of eligible voters turned out to cast a ballot.
The Okaloosa Democrats oppose this amendment. Jones noted that the Democrats have two issues with this amendment: it reduces access to vote in elections in a closed primary state like Florida. “You’re making it more difficult and raising barriers for nonpartisan people to vote in what should be a non-partisan election.” Jones argued that “a school board elections should be “running on policy, not based on party – what’s best for our students, what’s best for education. That’s the kind of things we want to keep voters focused on, versus what flag is one person flying or the other.”
This amendment would explicitly establish the right to hunt and fish in the Constitution.
Proposing an amendment to the State Constitution to preserve forever fishing and hunting, including by the use of traditional methods, as a public right and preferred means of responsibly managing and controlling fish and wildlife. Specifies that the amendment does not limit the authority granted to the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission under Section of Article IV of the State Constitution.
Would add the constitutional right to hunt and fish to the Florida Constitution
Would keep the constitution the same as it is now.
This is expected to increase voter turnout in general elections. Regarding the constitutional right to hunt and fish, Mo said the GOP supports this amendment as it codifies an existing right, while still allowing the Fish and Wildlife Commission to regulate the activities. “I think most people already consider the right to hunt and fish in the state of Florida as someting that’s there. This really codifies it,” Young said, “and should something at some point in the future, something come along that would say ‘well maybe now we need to infringe on that’ it’s now in the Constitution.” A total of 23 states have constitutional rights to hunt and fish in their constitutions.”
The Okaloosa Democrats oppose this amendment. Jones said he is concerned with the amendment because he believes it would allow people to hunt game on other people’s land and that it would bring back some forms of outlawed hunting and fishing. “there seems to be an implication with this one, that by making this a constitutional amendment, that they’re suddenly trying to put the right to hunt to supersede private property [rights],” Jones said, “So if you’re in the process of hunting something and you come upon somebody’s property, you could continue to hunt that animal and shoot it. Firearms on somoene else’s private property – I think every Floridian should have a concern about those two things.”
Amendment 3 would give people over the age of 21 the right to smoke reacreational marijuana and to possess no more than three ounces of marijuana. A typical joint of marijuana is about one third of an ounce.
“Allows adults 21 years or older to possess, purchase, or use marijuana products and marijuana accessories for non-medical personal consumption by smoking, ingestion, or otherwise; allows Medical Marijuana Treatment Centers, and other state licensed entities, to acquire, cultivate, process, manufacture, sell, and distribute such products and accessories.”
A yes vote on amendment three would cast a ballot to make recreational marijuana usage legal in Florida.
A ‘no’ vote would keep the same legal parameters around marijuana we have in the state now. Medical use only.
For the recreational marijuana amendment, Mo stated the GOP opposes it due to concerns about impacts on tourism and growth of the black market, despite some statements of support from President Trump. Young cited the risk to tourism in our area as a reason not to vote for the measure – falling back on personal experience with people smoking pot in condos he’s owned in the past. “When medical marijuana was passed, the number of complaints from people that would come down for people that would come down for family vacations and expect to see the same environment they had previously. It went ballistic. People were consuming marijuana specifically the smokeable kind which produces an odor it is not limited to where the person consumes it because as soon as they open their door it just waffles and permeates throughout the area and infringes on other people who don’t want to be exposed to that. So that had a real negative personal impact because the people that were renting from us.”
Young added that he believed the legalization of recreational weed had a negative impact on other states like Colorado. He says the states who’ve done so have seen an explosion in illegal activity around marijuana – because the legal marijuana is taxed, and illicit marijuana isn’t. “Because it is so heavily regulated and taxed, they have to charge a good sum for the product. So the black market, who’s not heavily regulated, who’s not heavily taxed that’s why it’s the black market,” Young said.
According to the Colorado Division of Criminal Justice, the number of arrests stemming from the possession of marijuana since the drug was legalized for recreational use in 2014 has dropped – though the report did note that the arrests of African Americans remained “disproportionately high.”
The report noted that organized crime arrests related to the trafficking of marijuana increased from 31 in 2012 to 119 in 2017. The report also noted that the number of arrests in the same category declined in 2019 to 34.
On the traffic safety portion of the equation, the Colorado State Patrol said they saw an 12% increase in DUIs involving marijuana after legalization in 2014. The Colorado Department of Transportation reported that younger people are more likely to see driving while high as safe. “changing perceptions around driving high still has a ways to go. When asked in the survey if they could drive safely under the influence of cannabis, 37% of Gen Z cannabis consumers said yes. For comparison, 17% of those ages 25-34 agreed with the statement,“ a release from the agency revealed.
The Okaloosa Democrats support this amendment. Jones says that passage of this amendment would help the tourism industry. “People come here to drink beer, to party, to go to the beach, go to Disney World,” he claimed, “if they’re buying marijuana here, that’s just more tax dollars coming into the state from tourists, which is kind of a good thing for everybody.” Jones noted that several Republican Sheriffs throughout Florida have endorsed this amendment as well and claimed that making marijuana legal for recreational consumption has led to a decrease in teenage use and the black market for marijuana.
According to the University of Colorado at Boulder, the marijuana industry in Colorado has seen a flatlining after about 10 years of legality in the state. “When industries mature, it gets harder to be profitable. I think we’ve seen some of the marijuana tourism wane a bit as other states have legalized,” Brian Lewandowski, the Business Research Division at Leeds School of Business, told CU Boulder Today in a January 2024 interview.
As this amendment, like amendment three, was a ‘voter-initiated’ ballot measure, the full ramifications of this initiative may not be known. The reason for this is the state legislature, which would be tasked with interperting was a ‘yes’ vote would mean. The legislature would be free to change the meaning of ‘medical professional,’ or ‘medical necessity’ by passing laws.
As the ballot language stands, the passage of this referendum would change the latest time a woman could have an abortion from the current six weeks to ‘fetal viability,’ which is not defined in the ballot amendment.
“No law shall prohibit, penalize, delay, or restrict abortion before viability or when necessary to protect the patient’s health, as determined by the patient’s healthcare provider. This amendment does not change the Legislature’s constitutional authority to require notification to a parent or guardian before a minor has an abortion.”
would be for moving the latest one could have an abortion to the time of fetal viability.
Would keep the state-mandated six-week abortion ban in place in accordance with current law.
On the abortion regulation amendment, Mo said the GOP believes the ballot language is too vague and open-ended, and that the legislature should make changes to these laws, not constitutional amendments. “If this were to pass, it would basically be the most radicalized open-ended abortion law in all 50 states,” Young said, “And it was written that way intentionally, because anything the legislature would then do – they would have their hands tied significantly. Because of the legal wording in this, [this issue] would end up in legal battles and we would go round and round and have numerous court fights.”
The Okaloosa Democrats support this amendment.”Half of Floridians are females,” Jones said, “and the current laws [the state legislature] pass, with the six week abortion ban is basically depriving them of their rights.” When asked about Republican claims that a yes vote would lead to unrestricted abortion, Jones rebuked their claims. “I think that is all smoke and mirrors, basically. It’s the kind of thing you hear [Republican Presidential Nominee Donald] Trump consistently throw out there – that there is going to be abortion after nine months. That’s not abortion – that’s murder. Murder is still illegal in the country, including in Florida.” He invoked reports that several women around the country have died while attempting to get abortions because doctors believed that they might get punished for doing the procedure.
The homestead exemption amendment would adjust the annual homestead exemption with property tax to the inflation rate. For example, if your property was worth $100,000 and you homesteaded the property – you would pay taxes on $50,000. In Niceville, for example, you would pay If the rate of inflation that the State of Florida used was three percent for the year and your home did not go up in value, you would have a homestead exemption of $51,500. You would pay taxes on $48,500 of your $100,000 home the next year – except school district taxes, where you would still pay taxes on the $50,000 from the previous year.
“Proposing an amendment to the State Constitution to require an annual adjustment for inflation to the value of current or future homestead exemptions that apply solely to levies other than school district levies and for which every person who has legal or equitable title to real estate and maintains thereon the permanent residence of the owner, or another person legally or naturally dependent upon the owner is eligible. This amendment takes effect January 1, 2025.”
Would add an inflation adjustment to homestead exemptions every year.
Would keep homestead exemptions the way they are now.
Young explained that the GOP supports the homestead exemption inflation amendment as it provides tax relief to homeowners, though it may create financial challenges for local governments. “I think the reality is homeowners are being stressed to meet ends meet. So this is one way that you can say that we are going to provide some relief and keep in mind the effects of inflation have on the homeowner.” When asked about how local govenrments will make up for the shortfall in revenue, Young said, “the second order effect is that the city and county budgets are now going to have to do some significant relook at how they allocate funds and where their revenue sources come from because those that come from the homeowners are probably going to be less because of the exceptions to the inflation increases for their homeowners exemption. So it places a stress on those two bodies.”
The Okaloosa Democrats oppose this amendment. “I’ll break it down for you: do you like being able to flush your toilet?” Jones said sardonically during his interview, “water pipes, your sewer system – all those things are tyically run by cities. When you take the money away to do the maintenance that makes it available for you to flush your toilet, you’re making it more likely that those things are going to break down and more expensive to actually repair them.”
Jones noted that he believes these homestead exemption amendment adjustments are red meat for the electorate – and that they are used by the GOP as a way to increase their popularity with homeowners, even though local taxes often get raised to cover the hole in their budget that appears in their wake. “We get into a back and forth,” Jones said, “we’re going to increase the exemptions as well [after local governments raise rates to cover their costs],” Jones said, “We’re against this, because we’re taking money out of municipalities.”
This amendment, if passed, would repeal the piece of the Florida constitution that provides public campaign financing for statewide candidates who agree to set spending limits.
“Proposing the repeal of the provision in the State Constitution which requires public financing for campaigns of candidates for elective statewide office who agree to campaign spending limits“
A Yes vote would remove the provision in the Florida State Constitution that allows people running for statewide office to use public funding for their campaigns, so long as they agree to certain spending limits.
A no vote would leave the public campaign finance carve out for statewide offices in the state constitution.
On the public campaign financing amendment, Mo said the GOP supports repealing this provision that only applies to candidates for statewide office, as serious candidates often exceed the spending limits, making the public funds ineffective. “It was designed at a time when there was a great deal of influence coming in, big, well-funded organizations, external money, getting behind candidates, and some would say buying the office,” Young said about the current provisions in place for public campaign financing, “So at some point they said, well, we’ll take that out. I think everybody remembers when they started to put, contributed a dollar to campaign that would go on your federal and state tax forms. And so all that generated from well-intended meaning and people, “If you’re going to be a serious candidate for any of those positions, you’re going to exceed those campaign spending limits. So you’re not going to qualify for state funds. Those candidates that don’t exceed those limits probably don’t have enough of a base or a support to get elected. So if they do draw state money, it is dollars not well spent because the candidate doesn’t have a groundswell or a base that would get him or her into office anyway.”
Democrats: The Okaloosa Democrats oppose this amendment. “Jones argued that the amendment was not a big deal. After all, neither major party candidate is taking advantage of this provision in the state constitution to run for governor. But, he says the Okaloosa Dems support this measure on the principle of the matter. “so to run for office, you need to have funding, and this is a way to have some people that don’t necessarily have access that I lower income, blue-collar people, they’ve given them the a path forward to actually be able to run for office, and this restricts the ability to do that. The reality is, unfortunately, in Florida, as in most of most the country, is most people are fundraising well above the agreed upon limits to get this public funding. That’s just what’s required for the for the elections, so it doesn’t really come into play that much. But you know, why make it more difficult for people?”
This renewal of a tax exemption would allow companies that have real estate they use for business in Okaloosa County to receive a tax exemption if they meet certain exemptions – like paying higher-than-average wages to employees. This measure was put on the ballot for the first time in 2004, renewed in 2014 and passed overwhelmingly both times.
“In order to create new jobs, shall the Board of County Commissioners of Okaloosa County be authorized to grant, pursuant to s. 3, Art. VII of the State Constitution, temporary economic development property tax exemptions to new businesses and expansions of existing businesses that will create new, full-time jobs in the County?”
enacts the same tax break that has been in place for 20 years.
Ends the ability for the commission to give out the tax break to future companies. Companies that have the break in place currently would be able to keep it.
Regarding the Okaloosa County referendum on tax exemptions for businesses, Mo stated the GOP does not have a firm position, as it depends on individual voter opinions on whether the incentives are needed to drive growth. “While the [Okaloosa GOP] would like to say ‘we’re firmly for or against it, we’re not,” Young said.
The Okaloosa Democrats support this referendum, but not enthusiastically, according to their leader – Davey Jones. “This is one we are not strongly endorsing,” Jones said, “this is basically looking to increase business growth, economic growth within the county. So startup companies are going to get a slight break on the property taxes for some point in time while they’re getting their business growing. And we think that that’s generally a good idea.”
Outgoing County Commissioner Nathan Boyles opposes this measure, “Because it doesn’t work,” he flatly told Mid Bay News. In essence, Boyles believes the tax break fails on three levels. He says the tax break does not bring in new business – that people who would come here anyway are receiving the benefit and that it isn’t attracting new businesses who would not otherwise come to Okaloosa County. He also argues that the policing of the tax benefit generates more work than it is worth and takes away from county employee time – essentially meaning the county loses revenue and then pays its employees for the privilege to lose that revenue – all while putting onerous bureaucratic burdens on businesses. Finally, Boyles believes the exemption disproportionately helps larger, out-of-town businesses at the expense of the little guy who is based in Okaloosa County. For more on Boyles position, check out his interview with Mid Bay News here:
Director of the Okaloosa County Economic Development Corporation, EDC, Nathan Sparks took a leadership role in rallying support for this tax exemption’s renewal. Sparks says the exemption has allowed everyone from airplane part manufacturers to ice cream makers to expand their business footprint in Okaloosa County. The Okaloosa EDC runs the organization that promotes a ‘yes’ vote for the tax, JobsForOkaloosa.
Sparks emphasizes the program’s performance-based nature, accountability measures, and the positive economic impact it has had on the community – as well as how the tax break keeps Okaloosa competitive with other Florida counties and Alabama.
“in Okaloosa County with the state of Alabama, which I think is pretty well documented that they’re very aggressive in providing a wide range of incentives to attract industry to their state. And they’ve been very successful in that to their credit. You can debate all day long as to whether incentives move the needle, but you can also point to a lot of projects that have landed throughout our country because a state, a county, a jurisdiction showed a willingness to partner with that industry,” Sparks said, “and to get them into that community, not just to do it because everybody wants to go to a ribbon cutting and it’s a great thing to celebrate, you know, a new business coming to town, but because of the return on investment. When you look at, you know, the value of jobs and you look at higher wage jobs in particular, which is what this program that we’re discussing today is really geared for, companies to qualify have to create jobs at at least 110 % of the average wage of an area of our county in this case.”
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