Petition Text:
We, the undersigned residents of Winter Springs, call on our city’s elected leadership to formally request that the Seminole County Supervisor of Elections designate the Winter Springs Civic Center as an early voting location for the upcoming 2026 election cycle.
Winter Springs is currently the only municipality in Seminole County without an early voting site. This puts an unfair burden on residents — particularly our seniors — who must drive longer distances than voters in any other city in the county to cast their early ballot.
We believe this is unacceptable.
The Winter Springs Civic Center offers an ideal solution:
- Centrally located in a highly populated area of the city
- Easily accessible to residents in underserved areas like the Highlands, North Orlando Ranches, and Hacienda Village
- Fully equipped to serve as a voting site with no disruption to ongoing Senior Center activities
- No additional staffing or cost would fall on the city — the site would be fully managed by the Supervisor of Elections
We urge our City Commission and City Manager to take immediate action by formally submitting a request to the Seminole County Supervisor of Elections to designate the Civic Center as an early voting site for 2026 and beyond.
It’s time for Winter Springs to join every other major city in Seminole County and bring early voting closer to home.
[END OF PETITION]
🗳️ FAQ: Early Voting Site at the Winter Springs Senior Center
Q: Will this require closing the therapy pool?
A: Not at all. The early voting site would be located in the smaller “Civic Center” building next to the main Senior Center, so the therapy pool will remain fully open and unaffected.
Q: Will this cancel any Senior Center activities like Bingo, exercise classes, or other programs?
A: No! All regularly scheduled Senior Center activities will continue as planned. The proposed early voting location would be completely separate from those spaces. The only possible impact might be limited outside rentals in the Civic Center building during early voting days.
Q: Who benefits from adding an early voting site in Winter Springs?
A: According to our analysis: 77.1% of Winter Springs residents would save time getting to the polls. For those who benefit, the average drive time would be cut nearly in half — a 49% reduction
Q: Why the Senior Center?
A: The Senior Center is:
- Centrally located and accessible to a majority of Winter Springs neighborhoods
- Especially helpful to residents in areas like the Highlands, Hacienda Village, and North Orlando Ranches, who currently drive some of the longest distances to early vote
- Already fully equipped and ADA compliant
- Available with no additional burden to the city — all operations would be handled by the Supervisor of Elections