ORLANDO, Fla. — Tuesday is the last day to vote in Orlando’s District 5 runoff election between candidates Shaniqua “Shan” Rose and Travaris McCurdy. 

Neither candidate received the required amount of votes during the special election last month, which occurred after former commissioner Regina Hill was suspended in April. 

What You Need To Know

  • Candidates Shan Rose and Travaris McCurdy are the two candidates standing after forcing a runoff election

  • The election comes after former Commissioner Regina Hill was suspended in April 2024
  • Polls opened at 7 a.m. on June 18

The polls opened at 7 a.m. and voters will have to decide who will represent them for District 5.

Voters said they are looking for a commissioner who is going to fight hard for residents in District 5 and focus on things like affordable housing and business growth.

Seven candidates were on the ballot for the May 21 special election. However, one person would have needed over 50% of the votes to win the seat.

Since none of them reached that threshold, Rose and McCurdy — the two with the most votes — are now going head-to-head in the runoff election.

Rose, a former city hall employee, had the most votes in the special election, securing about 25% of the votes. Former state representative McCurdy had the second highest number of votes.

Both candidates have argued that their government experience and their involvement in District 5 are just a few of the things that make them a viable candidate.

Voters will have to decide which candidate they believe will stay true to their campaign promises.

According to the Orange County Supervisor of Elections office, 1,205 voters came out to cast their ballot during the early voting period, which wrapped up Sunday. A majority of the early votes were by mail.

That is nearly 6% of the voter turnout so far. Those numbers were also fairly low for the election back in May.

The winner will serve until Regina’s criminal case is resolved or until the end of the term next year.