In Alachua County, eight county and city-level offices face competitive primary or general elections this fall.
Our newsroom reached out to all 20 candidates in those contested races and asked if they would help us inform voters about the issues they care about, what motivated them to run and which agenda items they seek to pass if elected.
Florida's primary election is Aug. 20.
The deadline to change your voter registration for the general election is Oct. 7.
The general election is Nov. 5.
Scroll below to learn more about some of the candidates running for Alachua County Supervisor of Elections.
Kim Barton
Kim Barton is the incumbent supervisor of elections. She did not complete WUFT's survey, so we have pulled relevant information from her profile on the supervisor of elections website.
Kim A. Barton was elected Alachua County Supervisor of Elections in August 2016 and reelected without opposition in 2020. When Barton was first elected in 2016, she became the first Black person to serve as Alachua County Supervisor of Elections. She is chiefly responsible for administering elections and voter registration in the county. She takes great pride in the fact that it is her responsibility to serve all Alachua County residents.
The daughter of Everett Davis Jr. and Gertrude Davis, Barton was born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee. After graduating from high school in 1980, she received a basketball scholarship to attend Connors State College in Warner, Oklahoma. She led her team to its first National Junior College Athletic Association Tournament and was named a First-Team NJCAA All-American. Barton was recruited by Debbie Yow to play NCAA Division I women’s basketball for Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma. When Yow became the head coach of the University of Florida women’s basketball team, Barton followed and became a proud “Lady Gator.”
Barton graduated from the University of Florida in 1985 with a degree in advertising from the College of Journalism and Communications. Following graduation, she worked as a public assistance specialist for the Florida Department of Health and Rehabilitative Service’s Medically Needy Program and then as program coordinator for the department’s One Church, One Child adoption program, where she was responsible for identifying prospective adoptive families for black children in the foster care system.
She came to the Alachua County Supervisor of Elections office in 1993 as its first outreach coordinator, working under then-Supervisor Beverly Hill. In 2006, she was promoted to outreach director by former Supervisor of Elections Pam Carpenter, a position she served in until her election.
She credits her passion for voting and civic engagement to her parents, who were very involved in civil rights era community organizing and participated in get-out-the-vote and voter registration efforts.
A member of the Florida Supervisors of Elections, Barton has served on the association’s education, ERIC (Electronic Registration Information Center) implementation, legislative and scholarship committees and on the Board of Directors. Currently serving on the association's education committee, she is also a member of the Election Center, a graduate of The Gainesville Sun's Focus on Leadership Program (Class of 1994), and a past member of Florida Civic Advance's Voter Education and Civic Engagement Workgroup. Supervisor Barton is a Master Florida Certified Elections Professional (MFCEP). In 2020, she joined the University of Florida's University Athletic Association Board of Directors and in 2021, she became a member of the Gainesville Chapter of The Links, Incorporated. In 2022, she was appointed to the position of Board Alumnus Member of Oak Hammock at the University of Florida, Inc. She is a member of the Greater Gainesville Chamber of Commerce.
Barton’s husband, James, is a retired state of Florida correctional officer. The two are active members of Gainesville’s Compassionate Outreach Ministries. When not at work, she enjoys empowering and impacting the lives of youth in the community and her church.
Judith Jensen
What are the three most pressing problems happening in your district or jurisdiction?
First is the accuracy of our voter rolls. Second is restoring trust in our election processes. Third is transparency of public information.
Your suggested solution for top problem:
Multiple databases are available to assure that the voter roll contains only real people who are citizens and residents with documentable addresses in the county. These sources must be accessed proactively when identity, qualification, or citizenship are in doubt. Information that comes from non-official sources should be collaboratively investigated. A vote by an ineligible person cancels a valid vote.
Your suggested solution for problem two:
Our elections must ensure that it's easy to vote, but tough to cheat. When polls show that the majority of Americans distrust election results determined by machines, I would encourage hand-count audit confirmation for reassurance of accuracy.
Your suggested solution for problem three:
Public Record Requests must be honored in a timely fashion, with redactions limited to only protected information. Data housed in proprietary systems (like VR systems) must still be provided to requestors instead of denied or made labor-intensive with charges levied for extraction. The statewide voter disc that is provided free every month is an excellent example of public data being readily accessible.