For County Commission - There are only closed Republican primaries in this year's cycle, so only Republicans can vote (District 7 is countywide, so it will appear on all Republican voters' ballots; the others will appear only on the ballots of voters who live in that district).
Supervisor of Elections - County wide only Republicans can vote
Manatee County Property Appraiser - Open Primary: All voters, regardless of party, will have this race on their ballot
Manatee County School Board - Non-partisan, all voters will have races on their ballot, regardless of party registration
Florida Legislature
We are not endorsing in the Federal races for the Primary.
Note: Click the name to go to their candidate page on our site
If you are wondering why the primary shut out voters, the write-in candidate dropped out of the Manatee County Property Appraiser’s race, making it an open primary. Manatee County Commission District 7 and Supervisor of Elections had a write-in candidate who did not pay a qualification fee and will not have their name on the ballot. The "write-in candidates" have ties to the developers (one lived on Beruff’s property). The Florida Constitution provides an open primary when there is only one party. However, a loophole decided by the courts and uncorrected by our legislature ignores the constitutional intent and now prohibits other parties from voting if only one party is on the ballot and there is a write-in candidate. Read it for yourself.
Article VI, Florida Constitution, Section 5
If all candidates for an office have the same party affiliation and the winner has no opposition in the general election, all qualified electors, regardless of party affiliation, may vote in the primary elections for that office.
Fact: Did you know we invited all candidates to be guests on the TBT Podcast so voters could hear directly from them and get to know a person who will have such a great impact on your life? Some agreed to participate, and some did not. Click here for TBT Candidate Podcasts.
Fact: Developers seek to control their candidates. This is political corruption, using mailers and texts with MAGA - Make America Great Again is deceptive especially when they make it appear it is an official endorsement of the Republican Party and or Donald Trump. It is not! It is developer funded, with the intent to deceive Voters. No candidate we endorsed is against development. They just won't be controlled by the developers that expect special favors.
You will find that not one of the developer candidates will debate, attend a forum, appear on a Podcast, or answer questions. They are all controlled by their political hack, Anthony Pedicini, who is paid by Beruff through PACs that he and his companies fund and coordinate. Pedicini sees no use in getting candidates in front of people when he controls so much money to betray us with.
Once in office, Pedicini actually texts commissioners how to vote in real-time as he watches the meetings. He instructs them on everything from who to put on a volunteer board to library policies. This is not a democracy if it allows our local Oligarchs like Beruff, Bob Spencer, Pat Neal, and SMR to control our elected officials. It is just like Russia, not very American and not in keeping with Republican values!
Read the facts before you vote at Thebradentontimes.com
Locally produced fact-based news, owned by a Marine Corp Veteran. Our Editor is an Army Veteran. Both are Republicans.
The Bradenton Times Manatee County Election Voting Guide 2024 needs to be shared with others in our community. Please send at least five emails to other people who can benefit from our reporting before casting a vote. It is critical to educate our citizens that those slick mailers and texts paid for by developers are deceptive and fraudulent!
CLICK HERE FOR EARLY VOTING LOCATIONS
