Highlands News-Sun
January 17, 2026
NOTICE OF TOWN OF
LAKE PLACID ELECTION
QUALIFYING, CLOSING OF VOTER REGISTRATION ROLLS
AND SIGNATURE
UPDATE INFORMATION
Notice is hereby given that the Town of Lake Placid will hold an election on April 7, 2026, to elect one (1) Mayor and two (2) Councilmembers.
The qualifying period begins Monday, February 16, 2026, at 12:00 p.m. and ends Friday, February 20, 2026, at 12:00 p.m. To qualify, the candidate must be a legally qualified voter and a permanent resident of the Town of Lake Placid. The Charter reads, Any elector of the Town shall be eligible to hold the office of Town Councilman, provided that he/she shall be registered to vote in the Town elections six (6) months immediately preceding the date of taking office and must be a resident of the Town of Lake Placid. Qualifying must be done at Lake Placid Government Center, 1069 US 27 N, Lake Placid, Fl 33852.
The precinct that will be open 7:00 a.m. 7:00 p.m. on Election Day for all eligible voters from precincts 13L, 17L, and 19L is as follows:
Precinct 13Genesis Center, 218 E. Belleview St, Lake Placid, Florida 33852
The voter registration books will close on March 9, 2026. If you have any questions about voter registration, polling locations, or vote by mail, please call the Supervisor of Elections Office at (863) 402-6655.
If you wish to request a vote-by-mail ballot, please get in touch with the Supervisor of Elections office at (863) 402-6655 or by visiting the website at www.votehighlands.gov.
If your signature has changed since you registered to vote, you may need to provide a signature update to the Elections Office. Signatures on petitions and vote-by-mail ballots are always checked against the original voter registration signature, and it is the voter's responsibility to be sure the signature is updated when it changes. If you need to update your signature, please call the Elections Office at (863) 402-6655 to have
a form sent to you.
OFFICIAL NOTIFICATION
You are hereby notified that the public Logic and Accuracy (L&A) testing of the Voting and Tabulation Equipment to be used for the April 7, 2026, Town of Lake Placid Election in Highlands County, will be held on Tuesday, March 31, 2026, beginning at 10 a.m. Testing will be held at the Supervisor of Elections' Operations Center located at 4504 Kenilworth Blvd., Sebring, Florida 33870, and completed at the Supervisor of Elections' Office, located at 580 South Commerce Avenue, Room A201, Sebring, Florida 33870, on the same day. If you have any questions, please contact the Supervisor of Elections' office (863)402-6655.
NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING OF THE TOWN OF LAKE PLACID
CANVASSING BOARD TO
CANVASS THE PROVISIONAL
BALLOTS; FINAL CERTIFICATION OF THE ELECTION RESULTS;
SELECTION OF A RANDON
PRECINCT AND CONTEST TO BE AUDITED; NOTICE OF MANUAL AUDIT TO TO BE PERFORMED
PERTAINING TO THE APRIL 7, 2026 ELECTION
Notice is hereby given that the Town of Lake Placid Canvassing Board will meet at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, April 7, 2026, to begin the public inspection, canvass, and tabulation of the vote-by-mail ballots received up to that time for the April 7, 2026, Town of Lake Placid Election. The Canvassing Board will consist of Councilmembers Joy Eberhadt, Colleen Charles, and Eva Cooper-Hapeman, Town Clerk. The public inspection of the ballots will begin at 5:00 p.m., and any member of the public wishing to examine these ballots should be present at this time. At 5:30 p.m., the Canvassing Board will begin its canvass of the vote-by-mail ballots that have been received up to that time. The meeting will be held at the Supervisor of Elections Office, located at the Highlands County Government Center, 580 South Commerce Avenue, Room A201, Sebring, Florida. Once the canvassing process begins, it will continue through Election Night, April 7, 2026, and beyond until the final results are official and certified. If a recess is needed during the meeting, it will be announced at the meeting.
Any vote-by-mail ballots received will be available for public inspection until opened. Those wishing to inspect the vote-by-mail ballots received during this time period must be present. The ballots will be canvassed, processed, and tabulated, but no results will be released until after 7:00 p.m. on April 7, 2026, in accordance with Florida Statutes.
The canvassing and tabulation of any provisional ballots cast at the precincts will begin on the evening of April 7, 2026. In the event that final certification takes place on Election Night, the manual audit will begin immediately thereafter.
The Canvassing Board will meet again on April 10, 2026, at 9:00 am at the Supervisor of Elections Office for certification of the election. The entire canvassing board procedure is open to the public and may be observed by the public in the front lobby of the Supervisor of Elections Office in Room A201 at the Highlands County Government Center.
The Town of Lake Placid Canvassing Board does not discriminate upon the basis of any individuals disability status. This non-discriminatory policy involves every aspect of the Boards functions, including ones access to or participation in its activities. Anyone requiring reasonable accommodation as provided for in the Americans with Disabilities Act or Section 286.26 Florida Statutes should contact Karen Healy at 863-402-6655(voice), or via Florida Relay Service 711, or by e-mail: vote@votehighlands.gov. Requests for CART or interpreter services should be made at least 24 hours in advance to permit coordination of the service.
Note: Persons are advised that if they wish to appeal any decision made at this meeting, they will need a record of the proceedings, and for such purpose, they may need to insure that a verbatim record of the proceedings is made, which record includes the testimony and evidence upon which the appeal is to be based per Section 286.0105, Florida Statutes.
Eva Cooper-Hapeman, Town Clerk, Town of Lake Placid
Jan. 17, 2026
Miscellaneous Notices