Florida election 2022 live updates: Polls closed in Volusia, Flagler

It's Election Day in Florida. Voters across the sunshine state headed to the polls to cast ballots in local, statewide and federal races in the 2022 midterm elections.

In the Florida governor's race, Gov. Ron DeSantis faces off against Democratic challenger and former governor Charlie Crist. In a key U.S. Senate race, incumbent Sen. Marco Rubio is being challenged by Democrat Val Demings.

Various local races in Volusia and Flagler counties are also on the ballot. Learn more about them here.

For local election results, check out our running tally.

FLORIDA ELECTION RESULTS 2022: See results from local and statewide races

9:55 p.m. | DeSantis-backed School Board candidates go 3-for-3

For Gov. Ron DeSantis, the winning didn't stop with his own reelection Tuesday.

Two Volusia County School Board candidates and one in Flagler County, all DeSantis-endorsed, won election Tuesday.

Jamie Haynes was reelected in Volusia School Board District 1, representing the West Volusia area. She got 59% of the vote in a rematch from 2018 against retired school administrator Al Bouie.

In District 3, covering the southeast portion of Volusia County, Jessie Thompson was ahead of Justin Kennedy by 10 percentage points with 29 of 32 precincts counted.

And Will Furry won the Flagler County School Board District 2 seat after a bruising campaign against Courtney VandeBunte. The margin was 58-42.

9:38 p.m. | New state lawmaker Chase Tramont offers perspective after Election Day frenzy

Winning elections is one thing. Governing is quite another.

One of the candidates who was a literal shoo-in Tuesday talked with The News-Journal about his outlook heading to Tallahassee to serve as the new District 30 state representative.

Chase Tramont, a Port Orange Republican, is a former high school social studies teacher and Port Orange city councilman.

“I know that tomorrow is a day we’re going to get to work," he said.

Following a divisive election cycle, Tramont added that the greatest challenge for lawmakers is to try to “bring some semblance of decorum and professionalism to the political arena.”

Tramont said it is “impossible” to make everyone happy, but that maintaining principles and values will be important for his decision-making process.

“At the local level, you have one vote to make 70,000 people happy,” he said. “ At the state level now, one vote to make 21 million people happy.”

—Brenno Carillo

9:09 p.m. | Supervisor: Volusia results slowed because of 'technical issue'

People interested in the results to Tuesday's election in Volusia County were a bit impatient when, with 111 of 136 precincts counted, the scroll stopped updating.

Elections Supervisor Lisa Lewis said by text a few minutes ago: "You should see new numbers soon. Technical issue moving results over from server."

7:54 p.m. | County results: Republicans win big

With all 21 of its precincts counted unofficially, Flagler County was — no surprise — a Republican stronghold, with all of the names atop the ballot, DeSantis, Rubio, winning big.

DeSantis' endorsement of School Board District 2 candidate Will Furry couldn't have hurt, as Furry defeated Courtney VandeBunte. The runoff was a turnabout from the primary, when VandeBunte led three candidates with nearly 44%.

7:43 p.m. | Early look at Volusia County races

As we wait for Election Day results from Volusia County's precincts, let's take a look at who's ahead at the county level.

For Volusia County Council at-large, Jake Johansson was leading Doug Pettit.

For Volusia County Council District 1, perhaps the most surprising return thus far, Don Dempsey led incumbent Councilwoman Barbara Girtman with a 54-46 margin.

For Volusia County Council District 2, Matt Reinhart was ahead but locked in a close race (less than 2 percentage points) over Danny Fuqua.

For Volusia County Council District 3, incumbent Councilman Danny Robins was well out ahead of Ted Noftall.

For Volusia County Council District 4, Ormond Beach City Commissioner Troy Kent held a 53-46 lead over Ken Smith.

For Volusia County Council District 5, Former state Rep. David Santiago was ahead of Deltona City Commissioner Victor Ramos.

Some of these races can change with Election Day voting yet to be counted, but it's not shaping up to be a victorious night for County Chair Jeff Brower and his slate of Volusia Values candidates, Pettit, Noftall and Smith.

7:30 p.m. | Red Storm Surge? Republicans dominating in Volusia early returns

The first batch of unofficial results from Volusia County have arrived. That includes nearly 150,000 votes, all of the early voting and most of the mail ballots, and no surprises, Republicans are dominating.

With all of the Election Day votes yet to be tallied, Gov. Ron DeSantis had won the county by a decisive 59-41 margin over Democrat Charlie Crist. Leading in the other three Florida Cabinet positions were all Republicans — Ashley Moody for attorney general, Jimmy Patronis for chief financial officer and Wilton Simpson as commissioner of agriculture.

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio had a big lead against Democratic rival Val Demings, while Republicans were all ahead in the two state senate and four Florida House seats on the ballot.

7:00 p.m. | Polls close in Volusia, Flagler

Polls have closed in Volusia and Flagler counties. If you are still in line, stay in line. You will be allowed to cast your vote.

Local results will start coming in as soon as the county Supervisor of Elections begin updating their numbers. State numbers may be delayed since part of the Panhandle is in Central Time and their polls are open until 8 p.m. EST.

5:12 p.m. | Turnout tops 50% in Volusia

With about two hours left before polls close, Volusia County has topped the 50% turnout mark. As of 4:50 p.m., some 212,063 voters had cast ballots, with the majority coming by mail but more than 62,000 coming on Election Day.

Volusia County Republicans well outperformed Democrats, with more than 101,000 GOP voters turning out as compared with nearly 64,000 Democrats.

By 5 p.m., Flagler County was up to 58% turnout. Of the 56,092 votes cast, about 53% were from Republican-registered voters.

Election Day voting in Flagler County was lagging behind the total votes cast by mail and during early voting, which were nearly equal.

Neither county had equaled their 2018 turnout, which was 65% in Flagler and 61% in Volusia.

4:56 p.m. | Groups request deadline extension to fix problem ballots as Nicole approaches

Charlie and Ron and Marco and Val are the headliners for the 2022 midterm election in Florida, but Nicole is casting a pall over the proceedings.

The subtropical storm headed for Florida's east coast could limit travel to their county supervisors' offices to fix any issues with mail-in or provisional ballots on Wednesday or Thursday.

Several fair-elections advocacy groups are asking state officials to extend the deadline for voters, moving it from 5 p.m. Thursday until the same time Monday, Nov. 14.

All Voting is Local Florida, the Campaign Legal Center and the NAACP Florida State Conference sent the letter Tuesday afternoon to Gov. Ron DeSantis and Secretary of State Cord Byrd.

“​Subtropical Storm Nicole is poised to cause significant damage to Florida’s east coast, threatening to displace voters from their homes, including voters in some of the state’s most vulnerable communities," the letter reads. "The storm system could erect substantial barriers to voters’ ability to timely submit cure documentation by making travel to county election centers difficult or dangerous, or inhibiting internet access necessary to submit cure forms online. For voters whose mail ballots arrived days before the election or on election day, curing by mail is not an option and many who live in the most vulnerable communities do not have internet access altogether."

—Mark Harper

10:48 a.m. | Voters: 'Scary time,' important to cast ballots

Turnout seemed to be heavy early in the morning, with five or six dozen people in line at Volusia County Precinct 602, the Beville Road Church of Christ in Daytona Beach, in the 8 a.m. hour.

Ruth Trager, an 83-year-old Daytona Beach City Commission veteran, was there asking for voters' support.

Voting was steady, but not as busy, at the Daytona Beach Regional Library on City Island, Precinct 613, and the Ormond Beach Regional Library, Precinct 512, on Tuesday morning.

Gov. Ron DeSantis appeared to get most of the support in an unscientific gathering of voter comments.

Noah Maka, 21, of Daytona Beach, said he was contributing to what he hopes will be a "red tsunami."

"We are in a very scary time. It's very important for people to vote based not on what they are told, but what is right," Maka said.

"People my age neglect (voting). Then they want to change the rules, but they just sit there and complain," he said. "If you don't vote, you don't have any right to complain."

Jon Ewing, a 65-year-old bank vice president, was voting in Ormond Beach.

"As a former Army veteran, I'll say some of us raised our hands to protect the Constitution, to defend the Constitution, and it's kind of scary right now, the vitriol. It's just toxic right now," Ewing said.

He described his leaning as "a left moderate."

"The solution to many of the problems is in the middle," Ewing said. "The left doesnt listen to the right, and the right doesn't listen to the left. Neither cares what the other thinks and civility has disappeared,"

— Jim Abbott

10:23 a.m. | Early turnout numbers favor Republicans

Some of the most talked-about races are atop the midterm ballot, with Democrat Val Demings hoping to upset incumbent U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio and Gov. Ron DeSantis expecting to hold off his Democratic challenger, Charlie Crist. Early voting statewide and polling would indicate a sweep for Republicans, but today's election will ultimately determine that.

—Mark Harper

7:10 a.m. | Unsure? Here's a link to dozens of stories about Volusia, Flagler candidates

Headed to vote today and still undecided on a local race or three? The News-Journal has published dozens of stories about the candidates on ballots in Volusia County. Check it out before you cast your ballot.

—Mark Harper

7 a.m. | Polls are open. What to know if you're voting in Volusia or Flagler County

Polls opened at 7 a.m. and will remain open till 7 p.m. See polling locations in Florida.

Voters in line by 7 p.m. will be permitted to cast a ballot.

Voters can vote at their assigned polling location. A full list is available on county websites:

• Volusia County

• Flagler County

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This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Election Day 2022 Florida: Live updates from Volusia, Flagler voting