Meet the candidates: Here’s who’s running to be Seminole County’s supervisor of elections

SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. – Seminole County voters will be asked to choose between two candidates on the November ballot for the role of supervisor of elections.

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Currently, Republican Chris Anderson holds the position after replacing former Seminole County Supervisor of Elections Mike Ertel. Anderson is hoping to continue to serve the voters of Seminole County but will have to beat Democrat Deborah Poulalion in the general election to keep his title.

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Seminole County’s supervisor of elections, according to the county’s SOE website, is responsible for overseeing all election activities for the county, including managing all municipal, county, state and national elections in Seminole County, preventing voting fraud activities and facilitating qualifying of county-wide candidates for office.

According to the Seminole County Supervisor of Elections Office website, Seminole County currently has 335,183 registered voters.

Now, let’s meet the candidates:

Chris Anderson (R)

Anderson was appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis as Seminole County’s supervisor of elections in January of last year. Once assuming the role, Anderson made the office’s mission “Ensuring Your Choice Counts,” a mission he says “focuses on providing fair and equitable elections for all of the citizens of Seminole County, regardless of their party and background.” Before his time as SOE, Anderson served the residents of Seminole County through other various roles, including ones at the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office. Anderson also had other law enforcement roles before becoming SOE and before that, served in the U.S. Army. Anderson is a husband to his wife of 20 years and a father of three who enjoys reading about leadership during his time outside the office. He says he’s running for re-election because he understands that voting is a “physical representation of your ideals, beliefs and principles” and wants to challenge the status quo in an effort to improve quality of life with each vote. Click here to learn more about Anderson and his campaign.

Deborah Poulalion (D)

Poulalion, Anderson’s Democratic challenger, is a data analyst at the Institute of Internal Auditors in Lake Mary who specializes in administering surveys, compiling results and reporting them to the public, skills she believes will benefit her in the role as supervisor of elections. Poulalion earned a master’s degree in mass communication from the University of Florida and also spent many years working as a writer and editor, according to her campaign site. She is also involved in her community and takes pride in being a leader in voter registration outreach and speaking out for local causes in Seminole County, where she has lived for nearly 30 years. Among her top priorities are a more user-friendly SOE website, more voting safety, additional early voting opportunities, voter fraud prevention and prepaid postage for those who vote by mail. Click here to read more about Poulalion and her campaign.

Election Day is Nov. 3.

Click here or visit ClickOrlando.com/results2020 to learn more about what you can expect to see on your ballot.

• Find more election results and news on the Results 2020 page.