Municipal Elections in five of six municipalities within Pasco County will be held on April 10th. 

The cities of Dade City, New Port Richey, Port Richey, San Antonio and Zephyrhills will be having elections for voters residing within those city limits only. 

Now that all candidates have qualified for the open city seats, my staff and I are gearing up for the election with vote-by-mail ballots, securing polling places, conducting pollworker trainings and equipment preparation. 

Many of our preparations for the upcoming August Primary and November General elections are on hold as we await the outcome of state redistricting. The State House maps were approved by the State Supreme Court. However, the Florida Supreme Court on March 9, 2012, rejected the initial senate district map, which had been approved by both the House and Senate.

The Senate reconvened on March 14^th for the purpose of modifying the original map which both the House and Senate will vote on again and be signed by the Governor. Once passed by the legislation, the new map will move on to the Supreme Court which will have an additional 30 days to determine if the changes are in compliance.

If the Court rules the maps noncompliant, the Court is required to redraw the maps themselves. The proposed congressional map is being reviewed by the Federal Department of Justice and is also being litigated.   

We are, of course, hoping for a quick resolution by the Court once passed by legislation. There is much work to be done in order to update our street indexes and precinct boundaries, issue new voter information cards to all Pasco County voters, and to update all maps and district numbers available in our educational materials and website.    

Please visit www.pascovotes.com for more information on the upcoming municipal elections or on redistricting information.