Lutz and Odessa residents who live on the Hillsborough County side have one extra day of early voting that their Pasco County neighbors do not: Sunday, Aug. 16.
Pasco County's early voting ends Saturday, Aug. 15. But Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections Craig Latimer kept his county's polls open the maximum 14 days allowed under Florida law, running Aug. 3 through Aug. 16. That means Hillsborough-side voters in Lutz and Odessa can cast ballots at any of 27 early voting sites this weekend, Saturday or Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Pasco's early voting launched Aug. 8 at 12 sites including three in Land O' Lakes and Odessa. Hillsborough's schedule was noted in prior coverage but never got its own deadline alert for readers on that side of the county line.
"We've got a large county which got over 800,000 registered voters in this county … So, it's important for us to be able to offer the most amount of days because our people like the early voting," Latimer told WFLA on Aug. 2, the day before Hillsborough's early voting opened.
Voters registered in Hillsborough County can vote at any of the 27 sites countywide. They are not limited to the location nearest their home. Each site also has a Secure Ballot Intake Station for dropping off vote-by-mail ballots.
Florida is a closed-primary state, so voters must be registered with a party to vote in partisan primary races. Nonpartisan contests, including school board and judicial seats, appear on every voter's ballot regardless of party affiliation.
Voters need a current, valid photo ID with a signature. If the ID does not include a signature, a second form of ID with a signature is required.
After Sunday, the next chance to vote is Election Day, Tuesday, Aug. 18, when polls open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. On Election Day, voters must report to their assigned precinct rather than any early voting site.
The full list of Hillsborough early voting locations and real-time wait times is available at VoteHillsborough.gov/EarlyVoting. The Supervisor of Elections office can be reached at (813) 744-5843.
