Miami-Dade residents who want to cast their ballot in public school elections have until July 20 to register to vote in the Aug. 18 primary election. Two school board races are up for vote, and the nine-member board governs every campus in the district, including MAST Academy on Virginia Key, Key Biscayne K-8 Center and George Washington Carver Middle School.
Three ways to register before the July 20 deadline
Residents can register three ways before the July 20 deadline:
- Online: RegisterToVoteFlorida.gov
- In person: At a Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections branch office
- By mail: Send a completed voter registration application to the Supervisor of Elections
For questions, contact Supervisor of Elections Alina Garcia's office at 305-499-VOTE (8683) or votemiamidade.gov.
Seven-candidate field competes for open District 1 seat
Two school board seats appear on the Aug. 18 primary ballot, according to the official Miami-Dade master ballot:
District 1 (open seat): Seven candidates are running to fill a vacancy created by a board member's resignation. They are Linda Cothiere, Erhabor Ighodaro, Joy L. Jackson, Bernard Wh Jennings, Wrendly Mesidor, Katrina Wilson and James Wright.
District 8: Incumbent Monica Colucci is listed without opposition on the official primary ballot. WLRN reported that Samuel "Sam" Joseph filed as a write-in challenger at the last hour of the qualifying period in June. Colucci, who has raised $132,695 in campaign funds, was backed by Gov. Ron DeSantis when she first won the seat.
School board races are nonpartisan. All registered voters can cast a ballot in these contests regardless of party affiliation.
Three other incumbents whose terms were up — Dorothy Bendross-Mindingall (District 2), Roberto J. Alonso (District 4) and Mari Tere Rojas (District 6) — were automatically reelected after no one filed to run against them.
Board's school closures and enrollment decline raise election stakes
On June 17, the board voted unanimously to close nine schools and redraw attendance boundaries, citing the first enrollment decline in generations. The district serves 333,233 students across 508 schools.
United Teachers of Dade President Antonio "Tony" White told WLRN that federal immigration policies have further pushed down enrollment, costing the district dollars tied to student headcounts.
"There are not a lot of people who actually want to come into this environment, public schools, right now," White said.
Board members earn about $54,000 a year. Miami-Dade County has more than 1.6 million registered voters, according to the Supervisor of Elections website. The full list of primary races is available at votemiamidade.gov.
