Duval County, Florida: School Board Races and Millage Renewal Remain Unofficial After Nov. 3 Election

Jacksonville-area voters decided a slate of local and statewide races Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, in Florida’s general election, but the outcomes that will shape Duval County schools, Atlantic Beach city government, and the state’s top offices are still unofficial as election officials work through the night and into Wednesday morning. Polls across Duval County opened at 7 a.m. local time and closed at 7 p.m., and under Florida law the candidate with the most votes wins each race even without an outright majority — a rule that matters in crowded local contests where three or more candidates compete for seats on the Duval County School Board and the Atlantic Beach City Commission.

The stakes for Duval County families are direct. Three school board seats — Districts 2, 4, and 6 — were on the ballot alongside a ballot measure asking voters to renew the ad valorem millage that funds increased teacher pay and other purposes, a question that touches every classroom in the county. In Atlantic Beach, voters chose a mayor and commissioners, including the City Commission Seat 4 race, which will set the direction of city government in the beach community.

How the night unfolded and where the count stands

Florida’s election rules shaped every race on the ballot. For candidate races, a plurality is enough to win, meaning a candidate can take a seat with well under half the vote in a multi-candidate field. Constitutional amendments face a higher bar: 60% approval is required for passage, so Amendment 1, Amendment 2, and Amendment 3 each needed supermajority support to become part of the Florida Constitution. Before any totals were released, officials cautioned that the results displays might show only the top three vote-getters and might not list candidates in proper order until actual results were certified by the supervisors of elections.

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The statewide contests drawing the most attention included the governor’s race between Donalds (R) and Jolly (D), the U.S. Senate race in Florida, and the races for attorney general — Uthmeier (R) versus Rodriguez (D) — chief financial officer, Ingoglia (R) versus Taddeo (D), and agriculture commissioner, Simpson (R) versus Atkins (D). Duval County voters also weighed in on Florida State House Districts 12, 15, and 17, and on all 28 of Florida’s U.S. House districts, including Districts 1 through 5, which cover the Jacksonville area and the rest of North Florida.

For local voters, the school board races carry the most immediate consequence. The Duval County School Board oversees the public school system serving the county, and the millage renewal question determines whether the increased teacher pay funded by that tax continues. In Atlantic Beach, the mayor and commission races decide city policy for the small coastal municipality within Duval County.

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Why these results matter right now

What makes Tuesday’s election consequential is that every one of these races was decided under the same clock: polls closed at 7 p.m., and the first unofficial tallies began flowing that evening. But unofficial is exactly what these numbers are. Election results are unofficial until certified, meaning the supervisors of elections must still complete their count and canvass before any winner is formally declared. For parents watching teacher pay hang in the balance, for Atlantic Beach residents waiting to know who will lead their city, and for campaigns waiting on statewide totals, the next step is certification by the county and state.

That certification process is the next dated milestone on the record: once the Duval County Supervisor of Elections completes the unofficial count and the canvassing board certifies the results, the winners of the school board, Atlantic Beach, state House, congressional, and statewide races will be official. Until then, the totals reported Tuesday night remain a snapshot of a count still in motion.