Florida's 67 counties split between two tracks: 47 "non-charter" counties use the standard model — an elected Board of County Commissioners with combined legislative and executive power, typically aided by an appointed administrator — while 20 "charter" counties (including several of the state's largest, e.g. Miami-Dade, Broward, Orange) have adopted local charters that can create a separately elected county mayor or other custom structure. For a meeting, start with the county's Board of County Commissioners or its charter-specific equivalent; for a records request, Florida's elected Clerk of the Circuit Court is typically the official records custodian for county government records.

Most states apply one county government structure uniformly; Florida instead lets each county choose between the standard elected-commission model and a locally adopted charter that can include a separately elected county executive.