Candidate: Judith Jensen

As a resident of High Springs for 11 years, I love living in Alachua County and would be honored to make a greater contribution to our county as your Supervisor of Elections (SOE). I aspire to be an honest, non-biased, dedicated SOE, with scrupulous observance of all the Florida Statutes.  My combination of professional expertise, community involvement, and commitment to election integrity makes me a strong candidate for SOE. 

My election day experience includes working as an EVID operator and volunteer poll watcher.  I attended all the signature verification sessions that were available to compare vote-by-mail envelope signatures with those on file. Canvassing Board meetings that I attended allowed me to observe the way ballots were adjudicated.  Observing the intricacies of the election process has been my passion. 

All of my spare time for 3 years has been spent delving into Florida statutes and voter roll issues.  Voting rights have been earned with much sacrifice by patriots before us, so voter roll accuracy is critical.  I am a member of several groups involved in improving legislation around elections. With Defend Florida, my team went door-knocking to determine whether voters still lived at their registered addresses.  Affidavits generated from this effort were influential with Tallahassee lawmakers.  With Florida Fair Elections Coalition, we share issues discovered all over the state and attempt to work collaboratively to improve processes and protect vulnerable voters, such as those in nursing facilities.  With Impact Alachua, we are learning the process by which voters move to inactive status and how long they are maintained as such. 

As a practicing Registered Nurse with a master's degree in nursing, caring for others brings great satisfaction. Managing busy Labor & Delivery units as a Clinical Nurse Specialist and shift coordinator has prepared me for efficient workload management and leadership in the SOE office. I am experienced in hiring, training, and assuring competencies of large professional staffs, which will be invaluable during busy election cycles. Working stressful 12-hour shifts in the NICU has prepared me for maintaining professional conduct in challenging circumstances. I maintained specialty certifications when they were available and have always achieved exemplary performance appraisals. 

I bring the same level of dedication given paid employment to my volunteer activities.  Since 2015, as a Guardian ad Litem volunteer, numerous Alachua County foster children have benefitted from my visits in their homes, status reports, and representation in court.  Our Homeowner’s Association Architectural review committee relies on my membership to help keep our neighborhood beautiful.  Although I have a family and a property to maintain, like everyone else, helping others during the time God gives me is a priority. 

The Alachua County Republican Executive Committee elected me Secretary this year.  I also serve as the Precinct 20 committeewoman and have started a High Springs Conservatives club to positively influence our city.  My identification with this party would not prevent me from working seamlessly with individuals of all ideologies, as all viewpoints have validity and should be heard.  

As the daughter of a police officer and lifelong church member, I have the utmost respect for doing things the right way.  I would bring that same standard of devotion to the position of Supervisor of Elections should you elect me to that office.