Politics
Jenna Persons-Mulicka moves from leading bills on elections to running them in Lee County
Jenna Persons-Mulicka left the House as one of the Florida GOP’s leading voices on election legislation before being appointed as Lee County Supervisor of Elections. With qualifying now closed, she is set to oversee an election that includes her own name on the ballot this November.
The Fort Myers Republican quickly became known in Tallahassee for carrying some of the chamber’s most politically sensitive policy fights, including high-profile bills that include voter citizenship verification, foreign influence legislation and measures touching constitutional amendments and congressional redistricting. After six years helping shape Florida election laws, Persons-Mulicka is now responsible for carrying them out in one of Southwest Florida’s largest counties.
Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed Persons-Mulicka as Lee County Supervisor of Elections in May to replace Tommy Doyle. Her early work in SOE role has included reviewing voter-roll procedures, finalizing polling places and returning a Dunbar voting site to the Dr. Carrie Robinson Center after hearing concerns from the community.
The job also comes with a built-in test of public trust, and Persons-Mulicka said she has already put safeguards in place for local elections involving herself or family members.
“Now my role is that of an umpire, rather than that of an advocate,” she said.
Florida Politics spoke with Persons-Mulicka about her first weeks in office, the election laws she helped write, and changes voters may notice this cycle. The transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.
Florida Politics: What has the job looked like in the first few weeks?
Persons-Mulicka: It’s already “go” time. I was appointed right before prequalifying started for candidates. … We’re finalizing all of our polling places. The most important thing we can do now is make sure we execute everything appropriately, have the best processes in place, and educate the public regarding all the details of the upcoming election so that they can show up and exercise their right to vote as we celebrate America’s 250th birthday.
I really believe this is where I’m supposed to be, and I’m so excited to go into the office every day. We’ve already received great feedback from candidates who have gone through the qualifying process down here at our main office. We had our whole auditorium set up and multiple team members in there to walk the candidates through different stations. We had a great process in place for quality control, where multiple team members reviewed all the documents submitted to make sure it’s the right version of the candidate oath and that the notary was complete and correct, and that every box was check marked that needed to be. I’m very, very proud of them.
Florida Politics: How are the election laws you carried in Tallahassee showing up in the office now?
Persons-Mulicka: Last year I had House Bill 1205, the constitutional amendment bill regarding ensuring integrity in the citizen initiative petition process. That was already implemented and it’s been going very smoothly. And in my office here, I’ve heard from folks at the state that the Lee County Office is one of the leaders in the state in terms of having one of the most efficient petition verification processes.
Then this year with House Bill 991, what went into effect immediately were the provisions regarding candidate qualifying, and specifically regarding what’s required to be on the candidate oaths. So the bill required anybody who qualifies for a congressional seat to check a box on the candidate oath form whether he or she intends to trade stocks if elected — or, if he or she had previously held office, whether he or she did trade stocks while in office. It’s clear on the candidate oath form that (it’s referring to) stocks where they would control the trading of the stocks, right, not where they have zero control over the training of the stock.
Now for all candidates, the oath now requires all candidates to disclose whether they are dual citizens. It also requires you to state if you legally changed your name in 365 days and so forth, and that you would meet all qualifications under statute in the Constitution. Then the bill provides an expedited way for an opponent or a party to challenge the qualifications of any candidate. So it’ll be interesting to watch to see if there are any issues that arose during the qualifying period and whether any challenges are filed in court.
Florida Politics: What local changes will Lee County voters notice this cycle?
Persons-Mulicka: So for our local Dunbar community, which is our historic historically minority majority community within the city of Fort Myers, there’s been a traditional polling place for many, many years called the Dr. Carrie Robinson Center. It was damaged during Hurricane Ian, and at that time, then the polling location and early voting site was changed to another location. Then my predecessor decided to move that to somewhere new for this cycle, and I heard some concerns from the community regarding it being a little farther away and not in the heart of the residential community.
So I made some phone calls, and we were able to return it back to the old polling location of the Dr. Carrie Robinson Center because now it’s up and operating again. It’s right in the middle of the residential community. So folks can come out, they can walk or drive, gather together, and exercise their right to vote in our elections. I believe the community will be very excited and encouraged to see their polling place return home.
Florida Politics: How are you approaching the fact that you will be on the ballot while running the office?
Persons-Mulicka: So I’ve qualified to run for office in the Special Election that will be this November, and that is just for the remainder of the current term. So then, if I ran for re-election, I’d be running again in ‘28 and then I would have 4 years until I’d have to run again.
I can tell you, my focus is not on running a campaign, but on running an election that has the highest standard of integrity, transparency and accuracy. And I believe that if I do that well, that my actions will speak for themselves and I can earn the respect and trust of the voters.
Florida Politics: What safeguards are you putting in place for elections involving yourself or family members?
Persons-Mulicka: I will say, there have been a lot of questions. So my father will be on the ballot for School Board and, potentially, if my husband runs for re-election in two years for County Commission, he would be on the ballot. But even more importantly, I will be on the ballot. All the Supervisors across the state deal with that every four or more years, depending on when a vacancy arises, how to best handle the process when the Supervisor him or herself is on the ballot. I’ve already put procedures in place where my key card will not give me access to any room where ballots may be during the election cycle. I also will not be sitting on the canvassing board. I want to faithfully perform my job as Supervisor, so I will be performing my duties in an advisory role, but I will not be a member of the canvass team board and my key card will not have access to any rooms where ballots will be stored. A lot of people don’t know, but even when vote-by-mail ballots come in or early voting ballots come in and they are opened and tabulated, that can only happen when a canvassing board member is in the room. So there’s never a situation where any employees are alone and handling ballots.
Florida Politics: What will implementation of the new election law look like after this election cycle?
Persons-Mulicka: I will say, there aren’t many changes that have to be implemented in our processes because we are already doing the work that the bill requires regarding citizen citizenship verification. It will just be making a few tweaks to that process, and there will have to be updates to polling place procedures and manuals due to the voter ID challenges, as well as some of the other legislative changes in the bills. I’m excited to see all that through. We’re also working closely with the Division of Elections to make sure that’s as seamless as possible because the process also involves receiving information from the state. The goal of the bill was to really streamline the process and make sure information sharing is timely and seamless, so that we have the voter rolls with the greatest integrity, and that we’re acting swiftly, and that the work is done well before the 2028 elections get here.
Florida Politics: Was Supervisor of Elections a job you had planned to pursue?
Persons-Mulicka: Becoming Supervisor of Elections wasn’t something I ever sought out to eventually do. I was drawn to service in the Legislature and I loved working on major public policy that will leave a huge legacy across the state. But in becoming even more and more passionate about election integrity throughout my six years in the Legislature, when there were discussions about this position and whether I’d be interested it felt like the right place for me to be.
Florida Politics: How is this role different from serving in the Legislature?
Persons-Mulicka: When I go to public events, and I’m happy to go to Democrat events just as much as I am Republican events to share needed information that all voters and all candidates need during candidate qualifying. My office has been here to assist any and all candidates. We want to make sure they complete all the required paperwork. We don’t judge what’s in the paperwork, just that it’s complete so that voters can have the opportunity to choose the best representative that they see fit. But when I go to events, it is a change in mindset, because now my role is that of an umpire, rather than that of an advocate. I don’t want to have any photos with other candidates. I won’t be going to any candidate events. I can nicely decline when people ask for an endorsement or contribution, and that is a different role, but I think it’s important and I’m enjoying it.
Florida Politics: What has the move meant personally after years of traveling to Tallahassee for so many years?
Persons-Mulicka: That’s a good question. Not having to travel to Tallahassee is a huge weight off my shoulders. While the job was definitely worth the travel involved, it takes a lot to coordinate that with your family, especially when you have a young child at home. So I’m super excited to be able to drop my son Hunter off at Pre-K-3 when he starts school in August and go to work while continuing to be able to serve the great people of Lee County.