One County, One Mosquito District? Lee Voters Decide the Fort Myers Beach Merger on Tuesday
Buried in Tuesday's long ballot is a referendum that would merge the Fort Myers Beach Mosquito Control District into the Lee County district, creating a single district covering the whole county. It passes only if majorities in both districts say yes.
The smallest government on Lee County's ballot Tuesday may be the one that visits your street most often. Voters will decide whether to merge the Fort Myers Beach Mosquito Control District into the Lee County Mosquito Control District, potentially creating a single mosquito-control district covering the entire county, according to the Lee County Supervisor of Elections. The referendum appears on the general election ballot for voters in both mosquito control districts.
The measure comes out of Tallahassee: it stems from House Bill 4035, which became Chapter 2025-235 of Florida law in 2025. Its defining mechanic is a double lock — the proposal must receive majority approval from voters in each of the two districts for the merger to take effect, so a countywide landslide cannot carry it if Fort Myers Beach voters themselves say no, and a Beach yes cannot carry it alone either.
The Fort Myers Beach district has published information about the referendum on its website, including the proposed changes, the applicable legislation and official election resources, and the Supervisor of Elections posts the official ballot language for voters who want to read the exact wording before they reach the booth. Polls are open Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at assigned precincts, and the referendum sits alongside the county commission, school board and charter questions on a ballot Lee County election officials have warned is a long one.
