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photo of Dana Southerland, Supervisor of Elections
Taylor County Supervisor of Elections

Resources Duties of the Supervisor

Mission Statement

Conduct fair, honest, accurate elections in Taylor County with integrity, professionalism, and transparency while providing every eligible voter the opportunity to cast a ballot.

Responsibilities

The Supervisor of Elections administers all federal, state, county, municipal and special district elections in accordance with the Florida Election Code, the Federal Help America Vote Act (HAVA), the National Voting Rights Act (NVRA), the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the Federal Voting Rights Laws.

Other Duties

Apart from general administration and office functions, the duties of the elections office include:

Voter Services
  • Administering voter registration activities throughout the county in accordance with Florida election laws
  • Processing all registration applications from qualified Florida residents
  • Issuing voter information cards
  • Maintaining accurate voter registration statistics
  • Performing annual list maintenance to ensure accurate and current voter registration records
  • Maintaining the precinct street index to ensure residential addresses are assigned to the correct precinct
  • Updating street index, as necessary, with zip code and address changes based on information received from the United States Post Office, as well as other county and city offices
  • Adding to the index, new streets created by growth, and assigning them to precincts
Elections
  • Maintaining and safeguarding county voting equipment
  • Testing voting equipment, programs, and ballot tabulation equipment before each election
  • Designing, printing, and proofing ballots pursuant to Florida election law
  • Processing requests for and mailing Vote-By-Mail ballots and related election materials to voters, including military and overseas voters
  • Receiving and securing mail ballots
  • Verifying signatures on mail ballots
  • Verifying signatures on initiative petitions and certifying results to the state (DOE)
  • Working with the county and municipalities on reapportionment, redistricting, and drawing precinct boundaries
  • Identifying and contracting with convenient and accessible polling places
  • Conducting early voting at designated sites
  • Conducting supervised voting for assisted living facilities or nursing homes upon request
  • Posting required notices in all polling places on election day, including instructions on how to cast a ballot
  • Delivering, setting up, and retrieving voting equipment for each polling location
  • Providing equipment, registration books, and all supplies and signage to each polling location on election day
  • Approving poll watchers and providing lists of designated poll watchers to polling places
  • Counting, canvassing, and certifying election returns
  • Notifying voters who cast provisional ballots if their ballots are rejected, and the reason for rejection
  • Recruiting and training poll workers in election law and procedures before each election
  • Appointing clerks and additional workers as necessary for all polling locations
  • Publishing uniform polling place procedure manuals, which are provided to every worker and every polling place
Candidates/Committees/Parties
  • Providing prospective candidates with general information and guidance
  • Filing and qualifying candidates for nomination or election to county, district, and special district offices
  • Verifying and certifying petition signatures for candidates who qualify by the petition process
  • Collecting candidate qualifying fees and remitting to the appropriate agency
  • Performing or assisting with elections to municipalities in the conduct of their elections
  • Receiving and reviewing for completion campaign finance reports and financial disclosure statements
  • Monitoring campaign reports and assessing fines when necessary
  • Providing filing forms and guidance to and receiving and reviewing for completion financial reports from political committees
  • Receiving, reviewing for completion, and maintaining financial reports from political parties
Voter Education
  • Conducting nonpartisan education programs to ensure voters know voting equipment and election procedures
  • Publishing various information and voter guides to keep the public informed about election news and laws
  • Partner with local schools and provide age-appropriate educational material as well as hands-on voting experiences
  • Maintaining a website to provide candidates, voters, and the public with valuable information and news
  • Distributing news releases to local news organizations to keep the public informed of election news
  • Receiving and responding to individual queries from the public in person and/or via letter, phone, and email
  • Reporting annually to the state, a detailed description of the county’s voter education programs
  • Receiving and responding to public records requests