Hillsborough County will send more than 146,000 vote-by-mail ballots to domestic voters Thursday, Oct. 1, giving Lutz and Odessa residents less than a month to fill them out and return them before Election Day.

The county's Supervisor of Elections, Craig Latimer, announced the mailing date after his office already sent 2,721 ballots to military and overseas voters, the Miami Herald reported Monday, Sept. 21. The county has more than 800,000 registered voters.

Voters who haven't yet requested a mail ballot have until 5 p.m. Oct. 22 to do so, according to Patch's Hillsborough election guide. Requests from the 2024 election cycle have expired. New requests can be submitted online at VoteHillsborough.gov or by phone at 813-612-4180.

Latimer said in a statement reported by the Miami Herald that he encourages mail voters to track their ballots and sign up for notifications, noting that most mail takes about a week to reach its destination.

Completed ballots must reach the Supervisor of Elections office by 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 3, Election Day. Voters can return them by mail with no postage required or drop them off at a Secure Ballot Intake Station. During early voting, any early voting site also accepts drop-offs.

Lutz and Odessa are unincorporated Hillsborough communities, so their elections run through Latimer's office rather than a city clerk.

What's on the ballot

Hillsborough voters will decide four county commission seats in Districts 1, 3, 5 and 7, plus two school board seats in Districts 1 and 6. Three county referendums round out the ballot:

  • Whether to make the Superintendent of Schools an elected position starting in 2028, rather than appointed
  • Whether to expand the Board of County Commissioners from seven members to nine, and eventually 11, with all elected from single-member districts
  • Whether to continue a half-cent school capital outlay sales surtax for 10 years beginning Jan. 1, 2029, to fund air conditioning, capital improvements and school security

Key dates

Early voting runs Oct. 19 through Nov. 1, daily from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at 27 sites countywide. The voter registration deadline is Oct. 5. Voters can track their ballot status through VoteHillsborough.gov.