How to cast your ballot early for Tampa Bay’s primary elections
Florida’s primary election is slated for Aug. 23 — but if you want to skip any lines that day and still vote in person, you can participate in early voting.
Early in-person voting begins Saturday in Pinellas and Pasco counties. Hillsborough County opened its early-voting sites on Monday. More than 6,800 residents had cast an early ballot in that county as of Friday morning, out of more than 58,700 early votes cast statewide.
Voters still can cast mail ballots, although the deadline to request that a ballot be mailed to your home is Saturday. After that, voters can still choose to pick up a mail ballot from their county elections office through the day before the election.
If you’re planning on voting early, here’s what you should know.
Early-voting days and times
Any registered voter can choose to vote at any early-voting location in their county.
By law, each county elections supervisor must offer eight days of early voting from Aug. 13-20. But counties can also opt to offer early voting as early as Aug. 8 and as late as Aug. 21.
Hillsborough County: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily from Aug. 8 through Aug. 21
Pinellas County: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends from Aug. 13 through Aug. 21
Pasco County: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily from Aug. 13 through Aug. 20
What to bring to the polls
In-person voters need to present a valid photo ID that includes your signature — such as a driver’s license, U.S. passport, military ID or student ID.
If you forget an ID, you’ll still be able to cast a provisional ballot.
As long as the signature on your provisional ballot matches the signature the supervisor of elections has on file, your provisional ballot will be counted. If the signature is missing or doesn’t match, you’ll have until 5 p.m. two days following the election, Aug. 25, to complete the ballot cure process. Elections workers should provide provisional voters with information on how to check the status of their provisional ballot.
If you requested a vote-by-mail ballot but decided to vote early in person instead, the mail ballot will be canceled when you check in to cast an in-person vote.
What’s going to be on my ballot?
Florida is a closed primary state, meaning voters can cast a ballot only for their party’s nominee, though all voters can cast a ballot in nonpartisan races such as judges and school board members. For more on who’s eligible to vote in Florida’s primary election and tips for voting by mail, check out this article.
You can request a full sample of your ballot through the Hillsborough, Pinellas or Pasco county elections offices.
Early-voting locations
To vote early, you can visit any of your county’s designated early-voting sites.
Early-voting sites will offer secure ballot intake stations (previously known as drop boxes), where you can return a mail ballot without sending it in the mail.
Here are all the early-voting sites in Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco:
• Apollo Beach Recreation Center, 664 Golf and Sea Blvd., Apollo Beach
• Bloomingdale Regional Public Library, 1906 Bloomingdale Ave., Valrico
• Bruton Memorial Library, 302 W McLendon St., Plant City
• C. Blythe Andrews Jr. Public Library, 2607 E Dr. MLK Jr. Blvd., Tampa
• Fred B. Karl County Center, 601 E Kennedy Blvd., Tampa
• Jan Kaminis Platt Regional Library, 3910 S Manhattan Ave., Tampa
• Jimmie B. Keel Regional Library, 2902 West Bearss Ave., Tampa
• Keystone Recreation Center, 17928 Gunn Highway, Odessa
• Maureen B. Gauzza Public Library, 11211 Countryway Blvd., Tampa
• New Tampa Regional Library, 10001 Cross Creek Blvd., Tampa
• North Tampa Branch Library, 8916 North Blvd., Tampa
• Northdale Recreation Center, 15550 Spring Pine Drive, Tampa
• Northwest Regional Office, 4575 Gunn Highway, Tampa
• Port Tampa Community Center, 4702 W McCoy St., Tampa
• Providence West Community Center, 5405 Providence Road, Riverview
• Riverview Branch Library, 9951 Balm Riverview Road, Riverview
• Robert L. Gilder Elections Service Center, 2514 N Falkenburg Road, Tampa
• Robert W. Saunders Sr. Public Library, 1505 N Nebraska Ave., Tampa
• SouthShore Regional Library, 15816 Beth Shields Way, Ruskin
• SouthShore Regional Service Center, 410 30th St. SE, Ruskin
• Southeast Regional Office, 10020-S U.S. Highway 301, Riverview
• Temple Terrace Public Library, 202 Bullard Parkway, Temple Terrace
• Town ‘N County Regional Public Library, 7606 Paula Drive, Tampa
• USF Family Center, 3125 USF Banyan Circle, Tampa
• University Area Community Center, 14013 N 22nd St., Tampa
• West Tampa Branch Library, 2312 W Union St., Tampa
• Election Service Center, 13001 Starkey Road, Largo
• Pinellas County Courthouse, 315 Court St., Room 117, Clearwater
• County Building, 501 First Ave. N, St. Petersburg
• Alice Hall Community Center, 38116 5th Ave., Zephyrhills
• East Pasco Government Center, 14236 6th St., Dade City
• Hudson Library, 8012 Library Road, Hudson
• J. Ben Harrill Recreation Complex, 2830 Gulf Trace Blvd., Holiday
• Land O’ Lakes Recreation Complex, 3032 Collier Parkway, Land O’ Lakes
• New River Library, 34043 State Road 54, Wesley Chapel
• Odessa Community Center, 1627 Chesapeake Drive, Odessa
• Pasco County Utilities Administration Building, 19420 Central Blvd., Land O’ Lakes
• Regency Park Library, 9701 Little Road, New Port Richey
• Wesley Chapel District Park, 7727 Boyette Road, Wesley Chapel
• West Pasco Government Center, 8731 Citizens Drive, New Port Richey
• Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus, 3021 Sports Coast Way, Wesley Chapel
