Elections — Grant-Valkaria, Florida

Grant-Valkaria voters choose a mayor and fill four Town Council seats, Seats 1, 2, 3 and 5, at the town's General Election on Tuesday, November 3, 2026.

The Town of Grant-Valkaria will be conducting its General Election on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, according to the town's elections page (Town of Grant-Valkaria elections). The seats listed as open are held by Mayor Lisette Kolar, Councilmember Tom Sammon (Seat 1), Councilmember Rick Hood (Seat 2), Councilmember Dan Faden (Seat 3) and Councilmember Mike Bradvarevic (Seat 5). Seats 4 and 6 are not on the 2026 ballot in Grant-Valkaria.

Qualifying closed at noon on August 11, 2026. The Brevard County Supervisor of Elections lists two qualified candidates for Town of Grant-Valkaria Mayor, and a Town of Grant-Valkaria Town Council contest with 4 seats available (Supervisor of Elections 2026 Candidates). Twelve names appear in that council contest: ten qualified and remain listed as qualified, one withdrew on July 29, 2026 before qualifying, and one qualified and then withdrew on September 9, 2026. Three sitting officials are on the 2026 candidate list: Councilmember Dan Faden qualified for council on August 5, 2026, Mayor Lisette Kolar qualified for a council seat on August 4, 2026, and Councilmember Mike Bradvarevic, listed by the Supervisor of Elections as Michael Bradvarevic, qualified for mayor on August 4, 2026. Other candidates are counted here rather than named.

Grant-Valkaria council candidates do not run for a numbered seat: every voter in the town votes once for each open seat, and the top vote-getters win, with seat numbers handed out by finishing order.

The town charter, enacted as Chapter 2006-348 and approved by the Governor on June 14, 2006 (Florida Senate bill history), sets a Grant-Valkaria Town Council of six council members and one mayor, all elected at large, and says the council members shall occupy seats numbered 1 through 6 (Charter of the Town of Grant-Valkaria, enrolled HB 1297). Its election section tells the ballot to instruct electors to cast one vote for each open council seat. The town elections page restates the result: the candidates who receive the largest number of votes are elected, and the lowest seat number available is given to the candidate who receives the largest number of votes (Town of Grant-Valkaria elections).

The open Grant-Valkaria council seats in 2026 are Seats 1, 2, 3 and 5. Because the town lists Seat 2 with a two-year term this cycle while Seats 1, 3 and 5 carry four-year terms, the four council winners will not all serve the same length of term.

Several other rules in the 2006 Grant-Valkaria charter shape the count. All races for council member and mayor are nonpartisan. No election is held for a council seat if there is only one duly qualified candidate for that seat. A tie for council member or mayor is decided by lot, and the term of any elected official begins 2 weeks after the election (Grant-Valkaria charter, Section 6). The mayoral race is a separate contest in which the candidate with the most votes wins.

A Grant-Valkaria candidate must be a registered voter who has lived in the town for at least two years before qualifying, must file a petition with the Town Clerk, and pays a qualifying fee of $0.

The Grant-Valkaria elections page sets out the requirements for 2026 (Town of Grant-Valkaria elections). All candidates shall be qualified electors who are residents of the Town of Grant-Valkaria for at least two years prior to the date of qualifying. During qualifying, every candidate files with the Town Clerk a petition signed by at least 1 percent of the total number of electors at the last general election, and the town advises gathering extra signatures in case some signers are not qualified. The 2026 qualifying period ran from 12 noon on Tuesday, August 4, 2026 through 12 noon on Tuesday, August 11, 2026, and qualifying packets are requested from the Town Clerk by email.

The town page also notes that under section 99.061(7)(c) of the Florida Statutes the Grant-Valkaria qualifying officer's duties are ministerial, so the Town Clerk does not judge whether the contents of the qualifying papers are true or accurate. Candidates for municipal office follow state campaign finance and accounting rules. The 2006 charter adds that a person may not be a candidate for more than one office in the same election (Grant-Valkaria charter, Section 6(8)).

Grant-Valkaria council members are not paid. The elections page says the council members shall serve as town volunteers and shall not be compensated, matching the 2006 charter, which allows reimbursement only for council-approved expenses such as authorized travel (Grant-Valkaria charter, Section 2(6)).

Grant-Valkaria holds its regular town elections every two years in November, on the same ballot as county, state and national races, with council seats staggered between cycles.

The enrolled Grant-Valkaria charter says regular town elections shall be held every 2 years beginning on November 7, 2006, coincident with county, state and national elections, with poll workers appointed by the Brevard County Supervisor of Elections (Charter of the Town of Grant-Valkaria). The vote that created the town came first: at the July 25, 2006 incorporation special election, 1,741 of 2,436 registered voters cast ballots, 71.47 percent, and the referendum passed with 1,149 yes votes (66.03 percent) to 591 no votes (33.97 percent) (Supervisor of Elections, 2006 Grant-Valkaria Incorporation Election).

The seats rotate. For the 2024 cycle, the Grant-Valkaria council calendar announced that qualified candidates would run at large in a nonpartisan election on November 5, 2024, for Seats 2, 4 and 6, with qualifying from noon August 6 to noon August 13, 2024 (Town of Grant-Valkaria, 2024 Qualifying Period). The 2026 cycle covers the mayor and Seats 1, 2, 3 and 5. Only residents inside the town limits vote in these races; the charter describes that area as lying mostly north of Senne Road, east of Babcock Road and south of the city limits of Malabar (Grant-Valkaria charter, Section 1(5)).

Grant-Valkaria residents vote through the Brevard County Supervisor of Elections, which set early voting for October 19 to 31, 2026 and Election Day polling hours of 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on November 3.

The Supervisor of Elections lists the 2026 general election calendar that applies to Grant-Valkaria voters (Supervisor of Elections, Current Elections). Registration books closed on Monday, October 5, 2026. The last day to request a mail ballot to be sent is Thursday, October 22, 2026 by 5:00 p.m. Early voting runs from Monday, October 19 to Saturday, October 31, 2026. On Tuesday, November 3, 2026, polls are open from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., and each voter must vote at the precinct polling place.

For in-person business, the Supervisor of Elections lists offices at 450 Cogan Drive SE in Palm Bay, 1515 Sarno Road in Melbourne, 2725 Judge Fran Jamieson Way in Viera and 400 South Street in Titusville (Supervisor of Elections office list). Countywide voting rules, ballot questions and precinct maps are covered on the Brevard County elections pages; this page covers only the Grant-Valkaria municipal races.

The Grant-Valkaria charter requires the town to sponsor and budget for a minimum of three candidate forums, and each candidate for mayor or council must take part in at least two (Grant-Valkaria charter, Section 6(7)). The town calendar for 2026 lists a Candidate Meet and Greet Forum on October 8 and candidate forums on October 20 and October 28 (Town of Grant-Valkaria calendar).

New Grant-Valkaria council members take office two weeks after the election, swear an oath that includes preserving the town's rural character, and then serve on a seven-member council with a vice mayor chosen from among council members for one-year terms.

The oath written into the 2006 Grant-Valkaria charter commits each mayor and council member to support the federal and state constitutions and the town charter, and to work to preserve and promote the history, environment, and rural character of the Town of Grant-Valkaria (Charter of the Town of Grant-Valkaria). Four or more members of the Grant-Valkaria Town Council constitute a majority, and five or more a supermajority. The vice mayor is elected from among council members for a term of 1 year, and a member may not serve consecutive terms as vice mayor unless no other member is willing. The mayor presides, votes as a regular member and represents the town in dealings with other governments.

Seats can open between elections. A Grant-Valkaria council member forfeits the seat on ceasing to keep a permanent residence in the town, and is subject to forfeiture for missing, without good cause, three consecutive regular meetings or four regular meetings within any 12-month period. Grant-Valkaria Town Hall, at 1449 Valkaria Road, keeps office hours of 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and is closed Fridays; the town calendar lists council meetings from 6 to 8 p.m. on October 14, November 11 and December 9, 2026 (Town of Grant-Valkaria Town Council calendar). Last verified: October 13, 2026, on the Town of Grant-Valkaria website and the Brevard County Supervisor of Elections candidate list.