Last Day To Vote Early In Hillsborough County Primary Is Sunday

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, FL — Voters who want to avoid the lines and hassle of voting day have one last chance to vote early for the Aug. 23 primary.

The Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections Office will open 26 early voting sites Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Click here for a list of early voting sites in Hillsborough County. Voters can cast their ballots at any of the early voting sites.

Residents voting early should bring one or two forms of identification that include your signature and photo. Without proper identification, you may still vote a provisional ballot, which will later be evaluated by a canvassing board for eligibility.

Of the 908,954 residents eligible to vote in Hillsborough County, 127,165 have already voted by mail (101,168) or at an early voting site (25,997).

As of Friday night, 61,206 Democrats have voted, 46,789 Republicans have voted and 19,170 people with no party affiliation have voted.

Florida has a closed primary system, which means registered Democrats can only vote for Democrats and registered Republicans can only vote for Republicans, with one exception.
If only Republicans or only Democrats are registered to run for a seat, that race becomes a universal primary contest, allowing any registered voter to cast a ballot in the race.

For the Aug. 23 primary, there are two universal primary contests: one for the Florida Senate District 20 race and one for the Hillsborough County Commission District 4 race.

The 283,543 registered voters who are independent or have no party affiliation can vote in the universal primary contests as well as nonpartisan races including races for school board and judges.

They can also vote for any referendums that apply to their voting precincts as well as countywide referendums.

On this year's primary ballot is one countywide referendum. The Hillsborough County School Board is asking voted to approve a 1 mil property tax increase running yearly from July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2027, to increase the salaries of teachers and school support staff as well as expand art, music, physical education and workforce development programs at public schools.

Who's Running In The Primary?

Democratic Ballot

United States Senator

• Ricardo De La Fuente
• Val Demings
• Brian Rush
• William Sanchez

U.S. House Representative District 14

• Christopher Bradley
• Kathy Castor

U.S. House Representative District 15

• Gavin Brown
• Alan M. Cohn
• Eddie Geller
• Cesar Ramirez
• William VanHorn

Governor And Lieutenant Governor

• Charlie Crist and Cadance Daniel
• Nicole "Nikki" Fried and Robert L. Willis

Attorney General

• Aramis Ayala
• Jim Lewis
• Daniel Uhlfelder

Commissioner of Agriculture

• Naomi Esther Blemur
• J.R. Gaillot
• Ryan Morales

State Representative District 62

• Wengay "Newt" Newton
• Jesse Philippe
• Michele K. Rayner

Republican Ballot

U.S. House District 14

• James Judge
• Samar "Sam" Nashagh
• Jerry Torres

U.S. House District 15

• Demetries "Commander" Grimes
• Laurel Lee
• Kevin "Mac" McGovern
• Kelli Stargel
• Jackie Toledo

U.S. House District 16

• Vern Buchanan
• Martin Hyde

Commissioner of Agriculture

• James W. Shaw
• Wilton Simpson

State Representative District 65

• Karen Gonzalez Pittman
• Jake Hoffman
• Michael C. Minardi

State Representative District 68

• Paul Hatfield
• Lawrence McClure

Universal Primary And Nonpartisan Races

State Senator District 20

• Jim Boyd-Republican
• John Houman-Republican

Board of County Commissioners District 4

• Noelle Licor-Republican
• Michael Joseph Owen-Republican

Circuit Judge, 13th Judicial Circuit Group 6

• Belinda Noah
• Wesley Tibbals

Circuit Judge, 13th Judicial Circuit Group 37

• Nancy L. Jacobs
• Jared Smith

County Court Judge Group 14

• Melissa Black
• Alicia Whiting Bozich
• Linette "Starr" Brookins
• Mike Isaak

School Board Member District 2

• Damaris Allen
• Stacy Hahn

School Board Member District 4

• Hunter Gambrell
• Patricia "Patti" Rendon
• Danielle Smalley

School Board Member District 6

• Roshaun Gendrett
• Alysha "Aly Marie" Legge
• Karen Perez

School Board Referendum

Shall the School Board of Hillsborough County levy an ad valorem operating millage of 1 mil
annually for fiscal years July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2027, to increase compensation to recruit and retain highly qualified teachers and staff, expand art, music and physical education, expand workforce development, sharing funds with charter schools proportionate with student enrollment as required by law, with annual reporting to ensure proper stewardship of funds to taxpayers?

Yes

No

Primary Day Voting

On the day of the primary, you must vote in your precinct. If you try to vote at the wrong polling place, your vote will not count.

For every election, the supervisor of elections has to change the location of some of polling places.

Click on the Find My Precinct button to find your correct precinct and voting location, as well as information on polling places that have changed.

Polling places are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Aug. 23. If you are in line at 7 p.m., you will be allowed to vote, but if you arrive at the polling place after 7 p.m., you will not be allowed to vote.

To avoid delays at the polling place, bring one or two forms of current identification that include your signature and photo. Without proper identification, you may still vote a provisional ballot, which will later be evaluated by a canvassing board for eligibility.

Any of the following forms of photo identification are acceptable:

• Florida driver's license
• Florida ID card issued by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles
• U.S. passport
• Debit or credit card
• Military ID
• Student ID
• Retirement center ID
• Neighborhood association ID
• Public assistance ID
• Veteran health ID (issued by Veterans Administration)
• Concealed weapon license
• Government employee ID

If your photo ID does not include your signature, you will be asked to provide another ID that has your signature.

Voters are welcome to bring a sample ballot to the polling place marked with their choices so there's no delays in voting.

When you arrive at the polls:

1. Check in with your valid and current photo and signature ID.
2. Receive your paper ballot and proceed to a privacy booth.
3. Using the black pen provided, completely fill in the oval next to each of your selections.
4. Review your ballot. If you wish to make changes, request another ballot.
5. If you have any questions, ask a poll worker before you insert the ballot in the scanner. Once a ballot has been accepted, it cannot be retrieved.

If you are satisfied with your selections:

• Take your ballot to the optical scanner in the secrecy folder provided.
• Insert your ballot into the optical scan feeder.
• The scanner will record your votes and place your ballot into the locked ballot box.
• The scanner will alert you if your ballot appears blank or if it detects too many votes.
• You will have the option to either submit the ballot as is or make changes.
• You are not required to vote in every race or for every issue on the ballot, therefore, the scanner will not alert you of instances in which you did not vote.