200 Candidates Qualify For Hillsborough County Election Ballot

TAMPA, FLA. – More than 200 candidates have qualified to appear on the ballot for the upcoming August primary election after Florida’s candidate qualifying period closed on Friday, Hillsborough County elections officials announced.

Candidates will be vying for the offices of Circuit Court Clerk, Sheriff, Property Appraiser, Tax Collector, Supervisor of Elections, County Commission, School Board, County Court Judge, Soil and Water Conservation Districts, Community Development Districts and Special Taxing Districts.

Candidates for federal, state and multi-county offices qualify with the state and are found on the Florida Division of Elections website. They include candidates for U.S. Representative, State Attorney, Public Defender, State Senator, State Representative, Supreme Court Justice, District Court of Appeal and Circuit Judge.

The “qualified” status for candidates does not become officials until the notice of ballot certification is issued by the Department of State, which will occur no later than Friday.

County election officials said that voters will be able to view a sample ballot at VoteHillsborough.org by early July and see which races will be on their primary ballot. Primary ballots are based on the districts residents live in and party affiliation. Florida has closed primaries, so voters must be registered with a political party to vote in that party's Primary Election.

All voters, whether affiliated with a party or not, will vote on nonpartisan races (including school board and judges) and Universal Primary Contests, which occur when all candidates in the General Election.

Craig Latimer, Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections, said in a news release that some school board and judges races could be decided during the primary election, and those are nonpartisan races that will be on every voter’s ballot

County election officials have also announced the following key dates:

• Ballots mailed to absent military and overseas voters who have requested Vote
• By Mail: July 3
• Ballots mailed to domestic voters who have requested Vote By Mail: Beginning
• July 9
• Deadline to register or change party affiliation: July 20 (postmarked or
• delivered by close of business)
• Deadline to request Vote By Mail: August 8
• Primary Election Early Voting: August 3 - 16, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
• Primary Election Day: August 18, 7 a.m. - 7 p.m.
• Vote By Mail deadline: In the Supervisor of Elections Office no later than 7
• p.m. August 18.