Okaloosa County Referendum to Impose a One-Half Cent Surtax to Fund Essential Improvements and Infrastructure
Okaloosa County, Florida
My vote power
High
Election date
November 3, 2026
How do we calculate my vote power?
What goes into the rating: Representation: how much weight one vote carries here compared with a statewide vote — the smaller the district, the more each vote counts. Decisiveness: how likely this race is to be close, based on past results or current analyst ratings, plus the number of candidates.
Representation: High · 71 out of 100
This district is a small slice of its state, so each vote here carries much more weight than a vote in a statewide race. About 216,599 people live here.
Show the representation math
score = 50 + 50 × ln(state population ÷ this district's) ÷ ln(50,000) = 50 + 50 × ln(22,416,077 ÷ 216,599) ÷ ln(50,000) = 71.44, measured against a statewide vote in FL (grades: 66+ high, 33+ normal, otherwise low; a statewide race is the 50 baseline)
High representation → My vote power: High.
Ballot Measure
Supports: Public Infrastructure, Public Safety and Crime Control
Opposes: Cost of Living Reduction
Okaloosa County would keep collecting an extra half-cent of sales tax on taxable purchases made anywhere in the county. The 0.5% local government infrastructure surtax, which voters first approved in 2018 and which expires December 31, 2028, would run for another ten years from January 1, 2029 through December 31, 2038. Shoppers pay half a cent more per dollar spent on taxable items. Okaloosa County adopted the measure as Ordinance 26-03 on March 3, 2026 under section 212.055(2), Florida Statutes. The money is split between the county and its cities under interlocal agreements, or otherwise by the formula in section 218.62, Florida Statutes, and pays for law enforcement and public safety buildings, traffic and road work including bridges and sidewalks, flood control and water quality projects, related equipment, other public facilities, and debt on those projects.
A YES vote means
Shoppers keep paying an extra half-cent per dollar on taxable purchases in Okaloosa County for ten more years starting January 1, 2029, and the county and its cities keep that revenue for roads, bridges, sidewalks, drainage and water quality work, and law enforcement and public safety buildings.
A NO vote means
The half-cent sales tax ends on December 31, 2028 and is not replaced, so the sales tax rate in Okaloosa County drops by half a cent per dollar and the county and its cities lose that funding source for infrastructure and public safety construction.
Sources: okaloosacountyfl.iqm2.com2 · myokaloosa.com