{"id":373455,"date":"2026-08-17T06:30:10","date_gmt":"2026-08-17T06:30:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/373455\/"},"modified":"2026-08-17T06:30:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-17T06:30:10","slug":"time-to-vote-collier-county-florida-primary-election-essential-voters-guide-is-here","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/373455\/","title":{"rendered":"Time to vote! Collier County, Florida primary election essential voters guide is here"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tuesday, Aug. 18 is primary election day<\/a> in Florida.<\/p>\n

The News-Press & Naples Daily News will be covering the polls and election results Tuesday. Come back often to naplesnews.com for live updates.<\/p>\n

Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday.<\/p>\n

To find out where to drop your ballot or where to vote in-person, check the Collier County Supervisor of Elections website at colliervotes.gov.<\/a><\/p>\n

Thousands have already cast ballots \u2212 either by mail or in early, in-person voting, which ended Saturday, Aug. 15.<\/p>\n

If you haven’t mailed your Vote-by-Mail ballot yet: Don’t. Instead, deliver it by hand. The Florida Department of State says: “A returned voted ballot must be received, regardless of postmark, by the Supervisor of Elections’ office no later than 7 pm (local time) on Election Day.”<\/p>\n

The News-Press and Naples Daily News journalists have been covering the Southwest Florida races, including gathering answers to questions from dozens of candidates about their qualifications and stances on critical issues.<\/p>\n

In Collier County and in Florida, races to keep an eye on include:<\/p>\n

FLORIDAWhich Republican and which Democrat will face off in November FL gubernatorial election?<\/p>\n

Florida Governor: Southwest Florida’s Congressman Donalds is considered a front-runner in the Republican primary, that features a long list of candidates. The winner will face whomever wins the Democrat nomination, which will be decided in Tuesday’s Florida primary.<\/p>\n

\u25b6 Your guide to the Florida governor’s race<\/a><\/p>\n

Florida Cabinet: Voters are also choosing nominees for Florida Commissioner of Agriculture and Florida Chief Financial Officer.<\/p>\n

\u25b6What to know about FL CFO race: Voter’s guide<\/a><\/p>\n

\u25b6Florida Commissioner of Agriculture candidates: What to know<\/a><\/p>\n

U.S. CONGRESSWho will replace Byron Donalds in the U.S. House of Representatives?<\/p>\n

U.S. House of Representatives, District 19: More than a dozen candidates qualified to run, hoping voters will pick them to replace Republican Congressman Byron Donalds<\/a>, who is the frontrunner in Tuesday’s race for the Republican nomination for governor; 11 Republicans are on that party’s ballot and three candidates are vying for the Democratic nomination. The winner in each moves ahead to compete in the general election.<\/p>\n

U.S. Congress will get a newcomer from South Florida’s new District 22<\/p>\n

U.S. House of Representatives, District 22: This newly drawn district spans central south Florida from inland Collier County to Hendry County to inland parts of Palm Beach and Broward counties. Politicos and voters are watching to see what newcomer will win the seat to represent the vast district.<\/p>\n

Naples Raegan Club hosts 22nd Congressional District hopefuls. See photos<\/p>\n

1 of 23<\/p>\n

David Burck, left, answers a question as Richard Evans looks on during a Naples Raegan Club Congressional District 22 candidate Forum at Tiburon Golf Club in Naples, Fla., on Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026. (Jonah Hinebaugh\/Naples Daily News & Fort Myers News-Press\/USA Today Network-Florida)<\/p>\n

BONITA SPRINGS<\/p>\n

Bonita Springs Bond Referendum: Voters in one of Southwest Florida’s smallest municipalities, Bonita Springs, will determine the fate of a proposed linear park with bike and walking trails along the old rail tracks. They will decide whether to approve $35 million in bonds to pay for the city’s part of the trail, which is called BERT, or the Bonita Estero Rail Trail<\/p>\n

\u25b6Bonita Springs voters are calling the shots on rail trail funding<\/a>. Will it pass?<\/p>\n

COLLIER COUNTYRural Collier County, Florida will have a new rep in the state House<\/p>\n

Florida House District 82: Republicans in this rural district will choose between Liesa Priddy and Bill Poteet for their nominee to face a Democrat challenger in the Nov. 3 general election. Both identify as conservatives, with platforms that reinforce pro-business, limited government stances. Priddy is a long-time local rancher and Poteet and longtime Realtor and civic leader.<\/p>\n

Districts 76 and 78, which include parts of Lee County, also have contested Republican primaries.<\/p>\n

Will political newcomer unseat incumbent for Collier County Commission seat?<\/p>\n

Incumbent Dan Kowal is challenged by fellow Republican Dan Zegarac in the primary for the Collier County Commission District 4 seat. Zegarac said his top priority is to address problems caused by over-development, such as traffic, flooding, and congestion. Kowal did not respond to the Naples Daily News questions.<\/p>\n

Will Collier County School Board incumbent keep his seat or will challenger prevail?Congratulations to the Lely High School graduating seniors of 2026<\/p>\n

1 of 84<\/p>\n

Brooke Bledsoe, daughter of Lely Senior High School Principal Jennifer Bledsoe, was one of about 324 seniors who walked the stage at the 2026 Lely High School graduation ceremony on Friday, May 22. (Tayeba Hussein)<\/p>\n

Collier County School Board District 5: Tim Moshier is running for reelection to the Collier County School Board for District 5. He faces Ford Dalusma. Moshier emphasizes student achievement and safety, as well as fiscal responsibility. Dalusma favors expanding vocational education, enhancing school safety and creating affordable housing for teachers.<\/p>\n

Great Naples fire district voters to choose how they elect board membersNaples Botanical hosts multi-agency prescribed fire workshop. See photos<\/p>\n

1 of 77<\/p>\n

Spartina grass burns as participants practice hosing it down during a prescribed fire workshop at the Naples Botanical Garden in Naples, Fla., on Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026. (Jonah Hinebaugh\/Naples Daily News & Fort Myers News-Press\/USA Today Network-Florida)<\/p>\n

Greater Naples Fire District referendum: Voters in the district will decide whether to elect the fire district’s board districtwide rather than within geographic districts.<\/p>\n

SW FLORIDAJudge seats up for grabs in Florida’s 20th Circuit and Lee County<\/p>\n

Some judge positions are contested for the 20th Judicial Circuit Court as well and Lee County Court. Other judges, including those in Collier County Court, were unopposed and therefore win the seats.<\/p>\n

Choosing who to vote for in these non-partisan elections can be difficult. Florida Today, part of the USA TODAY Network tackled that question and came up with this advice:<\/p>\n

\u25b6 How to choose a judge: tips from those in the know<\/a><\/p>\n

LEE COUNTY<\/p>\n

Lee County voters will be casting ballots in a county commission race, Cape Coral City Council races, several Lee County school board races and more.<\/p>\n

\u25b6Lee County voter guide<\/a><\/p>\n

Races to watch in Lee County:<\/p>\n

Lee County Commission District 5: This is a race to watch with newly appointed Commissioner Trish Petrosky facing Amanda Cochran for the seat that represents Lehigh Acres and rural parts of the county, such as Alva and Buckingham. Both women are Republicans and there isn’t a Democrat challenger, so all registered Lee voters, regardless of party affiliation, can vote in the race and the winner will take the commission seat.<\/p>\n

Lee County School Board: Two school board members will be selected Tuesday, Aug. 18, for district seats 1, which represents Cape Coral, Pine Island and Sanibel, and district 6, an at-large seat representing the whole county. District 1: Incumbent Sam Fisher versus challenger Jenn McDaigle. Seat 6: Incumbent Jada Langford-Flemming versus challenger India Palencia. Two other school board seats (4 and 5) have multiple candidates, and the top voter-getters will move ahead to face off in the general election.<\/p>\n

U.S. House of Representatives, District 17: Once a more Sarasota-focused district, District 17 now includes parts of Fort Myers and a wider swath of Lee after redistricting. Two Democrats are competing to determine who will face the Republican incumbent in November.<\/p>\n

Cape Coral City Council: Cape Coral voters have been wading through a crowded list of mayoral and city council candidates who have stepped up to run in one of Florida’s largest municipalities. Top finalists in the mayor’s race and two council races will move ahead to the general election. These are non-partisan races.<\/p>\n

Contributing: Liz Freeman, Cindy McCurry-Ross, Laura Layden, J. Kyle Foster, Curt Anderson<\/p>\n

Please support local community journalism and stay informed about Southwest Florida news by subscribing to The News-Press<\/a> and Naples Daily News<\/a>; download the free News-Press<\/a> or Naples Daily News app<\/a>, and sign up for daily briefing email newsletter, food & dining and growth & development newsletters here<\/a> and here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Time to vote! Collier County, Florida primary election essential voters guide is here<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tuesday, Aug. 18 is primary election day in Florida. The News-Press & Naples Daily News will be covering…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":373456,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[445,5926,28,2466,3291,30,29,29452,356,51025,13108,807,1521,33739],"class_list":["post-373455","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-byron-donalds","tag-collier-county","tag-florida","tag-florida-department-of-state","tag-florida-governor","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news","tag-hendry-county","tag-lee-county","tag-naples-daily-news","tag-news-press","tag-south-florida","tag-southwest-florida","tag-u-s-house-of-representatives"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/373455","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=373455"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/373455\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/373456"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=373455"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=373455"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=373455"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}