Deborah Poulalion

Deborah Poulalion is running for the Seminole County Supervisor of Elections seat. Poulalion is a data analyst at the Institute of Internal Auditors in Lake Mary. She began her political career in 2020 by running unsuccessfully for Supervisor of Elections in 2020 and House District 36 in 2022. 

Poulalion said she is running for better access to elections, which includes offering services such as prepaid postage on return mail ballots, phone service in Spanish and additional voting hours during primary elections and stronger election security with voter ID. Learn more.

“I believe that when people vote, public officials are held accountable and the government is better for everyone,” Poulalion told OCN. “It’s not about a party, it’s not about politicians, it’s about us getting involved so our voices are heard.” 

Over the course of Poulalion’s campaign, she has raised $39,593.95 and spent $27,656.42 according to Voter Focus. 

OCN Q&A

OCN created a profile for each candidate and sent each candidate a list of questions that we created based on input from residents of Greater Oviedo and Winter Springs. Each candidate within a specific race got the same list of questions at the same time and had a 50-word limit per question. Answers were only edited for grammar and clarity.

Q: In a time of intense media coverage of issues of voter intimidation, purging of ballots from voter rolls, and investigations into election interference, what will you do to protect the integrity of the electoral process? 

A: I think voters want transparency and information from their local supervisor of elections (SOE). The SOE should always put the integrity of the election process above any party or politician. 

Q: Do you believe that access to information about local elections needs to increase? If yes, what would you do to increase access?

A: I would : 1) Update and organize the website. 2. Revise the “Voter Guide” so that it is printable and readable online. 3. Have a  live person answer the phone during office hours. 4. Provide information equally in English and Spanish, and more (see deb4elections.com/issues).

Q: What additional security measures, if any, do you believe ought to be in place to ensure a fair and secure election? 

A: The biggest risk for election security is a data breach, so I think there should be legislation that requires county government to provide proper funding for cybersecurity. To ensure accuracy of electronic tabulation, I would consider getting audit software to recount a representative sample of ballots.

Q: What measures would you implement, if any, to increase access to local elections for voters? Please outline what would need to be done to execute such a plan. 

A: Seminole County chooses to have the minimum early voting days/hours allowed by Florida law for the primaries. I would increase to 10 hours per day on weekdays, and add more days, especially Souls to the Polls Sunday (the last Sunday before the election).

Q: Right now, the elected supervisor of elections’ name is in the SOE’s office logo. Some surrounding counties do this as well while others don’t. Some residents have argued that this can give an incumbent supervisor an advantage in an election. What are your thoughts on this? 

A: I think the current elections supervisor has gone too far with branding his name through the elections office, beyond just the logo. His name is prominently featured on many places where it is not needed, such as vehicle wraps, signs, stickers, the Voter Guide, Google searches, etc.

Q: Currently, only the local candidates running for upcoming elections are on the Supervisor of Elections’ website. Voters have to go to other websites to see the candidates who are running on the state and federal level but who represent voters in our county. The ballot amendments are also not listed on the SOE website. Do you believe that practice should continue or do you believe that everything that will be on the ballot should be on the SOE website ahead of an election? Please explain your answer.

A: Voters should not have to hunt for what will be on their ballots. To address this issue, I created a nonpartisan Ballot Guide on my website that simply lists all of the races, amendments, and referendums in Seminole County. https://deb4elections.com/ballot-guide I would take a similar approach when in office.