No county commission race is on Horizon West ballots Nov. 3. The county mayor, a school tax renewal and Amendment 3 are. Early voting starts Monday.

Horizon West voters will not elect a county commissioner on Nov. 3. The District 1 seat that covers Horizon West is not on the ballot this year. Voters here will still choose a new Orange County mayor, decide whether to renew a school property tax and vote on three changes to the Florida Constitution.

Those contests come from the Orange County Supervisor of Elections’ sample ballots for every precinct. None of the 37 ballot styles for commission District 1 precincts includes a county commission race. Commission races for Districts 2, 4, 6, 7 and 8 appear only on ballots in those districts.

Early voting opens Monday. It runs 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily through Sunday, Nov. 1, including at Orange County National Golf Center in Horizon West. Our voting guide has every site, the ID rules and the mail ballot steps.

What is on a Horizon West ballot

We used the ballot for precinct 127 as the example. That precinct votes at Horizon High School, 10393 Seidel Road. The supervisor’s office moved it there from Orange County National this year, according to its list of polling place changes. Candidates are listed in ballot order, with party where the ballot shows one.

Contest Candidates
U.S. senator Ashley Moody (REP), Angie Nixon (DEM), Neil J. Gillespie (NPA)
U.S. House, District 11 Joe Strada (REP), James Pericola (DEM), Ralph Groves (LPF)
Governor and lieutenant governor Byron Donalds and Bryan Avila (REP), David Jolly and Gwen Graham (DEM), plus six other tickets and a write-in line
Attorney general James Uthmeier (REP), Jose Javier Rodriguez (DEM)
Chief financial officer Blaise Ingoglia (REP), Annette Taddeo (DEM)
Commissioner of agriculture Wilton Simpson (REP), Joey Mendoza Atkins (DEM)
State House, District 45 Erin Huntley (REP), Leonard Spencer (DEM)
Clerk of Courts Roberta Walton Johnson (DEM), Terrell Thomas (NPA)
Florida Supreme Court Retain Justice Carlos G. Muñiz, yes or no
Circuit judge, 9th Judicial Circuit, Group 1 Temika Hampton-Johnson, Charles Hart
County mayor (nonpartisan) Chris Messina, Tiffany Moore Russell
Soil and Water Conservation supervisor, District 1 Quinnie Perez, Vicente Rafael Perez Carreno, Doug Sahr

The other governor tickets on the ballot are:

  • Scott Eckhard Jewett and Nicole Skelly (LPF)
  • Charles Burkett and Ruben A. Coto (NPA)
  • Frank J. Russo and Rachel Rodriguez (NPA)
  • Moliere “Moe” Dimanche and Benjiman Rojas (NPA)
  • Dean Ocean Abrams and Joe Van Vactor (NPA)
  • Jeffrey Peter “Dr. Jeff” Datto and Juan Santana (NPA)

Not every Horizon West ballot is identical. Some District 1 precincts vote in state House District 39, where Doug Bankson (REP) faces Jarod Fox (DEM), and a few District 1 ballots carry no state House race. Check your own with the supervisor’s What’s On My Ballot lookup.

No school board or development district races here

The precinct 127 ballot has no School Board race. The Florida Division of Elections’ candidate list shows 21 candidates for community development district seats in Orange County. Nineteen are unopposed, and unopposed candidates do not appear on the ballot. The one contested seat, Vista Lakes Community Development District Seat 3, is in east Orange County.

The tax questions

Two questions on the back of the ballot affect property tax bills.

The school millage. The School Board of Orange County asks voters to continue its current one mill property tax for operating costs. The ballot says the money goes to pay teachers and support staff and to keep academic programs, arts, athletics and student activities. The levy would run from July 1, 2027, to June 30, 2031, and would be shared with charter schools. One mill is $1 of tax for every $1,000 of taxable value.

Amendment 3. This proposed change to the Florida Constitution would raise the homestead exemption for all non-school property taxes, according to the composite sample ballot. It would:

  • raise the exemption to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, then adjust it for inflation
  • cut the yearly cap on assessment increases for non-homestead property from 10% to 5%
  • limit what counties and cities can spend property taxes on, such as public safety, schools, infrastructure and debt
  • give people who are not Florida residents on Dec. 31, 2026, the larger exemption only from their fifth year of exemption

Orange County has estimated what Amendment 3 would cost its budget. Our property tax guide has the county’s figures.

The other two amendments are:

  • Amendment 1 would let the state keep up to 25% of general revenue in its budget stabilization fund, up from 10%.
  • Amendment 2 would exempt tangible personal property on agricultural land from property tax, starting in 2027.

Each amendment needs 60% of the vote to pass, under Article XI of the Florida Constitution.

What it means for you

  • Look up your own ballot before you vote. Your precinct decides your House district.
  • Vote early from Monday at Orange County National or any other early voting site in the county.
  • Request a mail ballot by 5 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 22, online or at 407-836-2070.
  • On Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3, vote only at your own precinct’s polling place. Polls close at 7 p.m.

We will report the results for these contests from the supervisor’s election results page after polls close. Results are unofficial until certified. This story does not endorse any candidate or measure.