Nearly 12,000 Hillsborough Residents Cast Early Votes

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, FL -- Early voting turnout in Hillsborough County continues to be strong with more than 2,000 residents casting their votes each day since the early voting period began Aug. 13.

Supervisor of Elections Craig Latimer reminds Hillsborough County voters that they have until 6 p.m. Aug. 26 to vote early in the Aug. 28 Primary Election.

As of Friday, Aug. 17, more than 63,900 voters had voted by mail and more than 11,670 voters had voted in person at one of Hillsborough County's 19 early voting locations.

During the 2014 Primary Election, just over 19,400 voters voted during 11 days of early voting, with 2,481 voting early on the busiest day.

Unlike the General Election, the Primary is partisan. Voters must vote for the candidates in their declared party. Someone who is a member of the Republican party can’t vote for a Democratic candidate, and vice versa. In fact, the ballot you receive will only contain the candidates in your party.

Those who are independent or have not declared a party affiliation can still vote for nonpartisan candidates in the Primary including members of the Hillsborough County School Board and candidates for county court judge and circuit judge. There are four open school board seats, three county court seats and one circuit court seat up for election.

There are also three amendments on the Primary ballot. Voting is restricted to residents who live in the areas in which the amendments apply. They include an amendment to increase taxes for the Bloomingdale Special Dependent Tax District, the Carrollwood South Dependent Tax District, the East Lake Park Special Dependent Tax District and the Beacon Meadows Special Dependent Tax District.

3 Ways To Vote

Vote On Election Day

Just a decade ago, voting meant heading out early to your assigned polling place, wading through a sea of sign-wielding supporters and then standing in line, sometimes for hours, to cast your ballot.

You can still vote this way, and many people prefer it. They enjoy standing in line, talking politics with neighbors. But there are other options as well.

Vote By Mail

Many voters have already received a ballot from the Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections Office and have voted by mail. It’s an easy and quick way to vote. If you want a Vote By Mail Ballot, you can contact the Supervisor of Elections Office no later than Aug. 22 to have one mailed to you, or you may pick up a mail ballot at an elections office in Hillsborough County.

Mail ballots must be received by the Supervisor of Elections no later than 7 p.m., Aug. 28.

Just don't forget to sign your Vote By Mail envelope before returning it. More than a few ballots have been disqualified because they weren’t signed.

Make sure you have a current signature on file with the Supervisor of Elections Office. You can update your signature by completing a printed or online voter registration application. (An online application will add your most recent Florida Driver License or Florida State ID signature to your voter record.)

Be consistent when signing your mail ballot return envelope. Signatures are compared to those on file with the elections office.

You may mail your ballot back or deliver your ballot to a Supervisor of Elections ballot drop-off location.

If you mail the ballot back, make sure to allow plenty of time for it to be received. The Supervisor of Elections recommends that you allow at least a week for your mailed ballot to reach your elections office. If your ballot isn't in your county's elections office by 7 p.m. Election Day, it will not be counted.

Early Voting

As long as you are a Hillsborough County resident, you can vote at any early voting site in the county from now through Aug. 26,10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

To avoid delays, 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.

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 VA)
* Concealed Weapon License (issued pursuant to s. 790.06)
* Government employee ID

Bring your marked sample ballot with you to use as a reference.

Early voting sites:

* Bloomingdale Regional Public Library, 1906 Bloomingdale Ave., Valrico

* Cyrus Greene Center, 2101 E. Dr. Martin Luther King 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 W. Bearss Ave. Tampa

Keystone Community Center, 17928 Gunn Highway, Odessa

* Maureen B. Gauzza Public Library (formerly Upper Tampa Bay), 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

Plant City Bruton Memorial Library, 302 W. McLendon St. Plant City

Port Tampa Community Center, 4702 W. McCoy St. Tampa

Riverview Branch Library, 10509 Riverview Drive, Riverview

Robert L. Gilder Elections Service Center, 2514 N. Falkenburg Road, Tampa

SouthShore Regional Library, 15816 Beth Shields Way. Ruskin

Temple Terrace Public Library, 202 Bullard Parkway, Temple Terrace

Town 'N Country Regional Public Library, 1606 Paula Drive, Tampa

* Valrico Recreation Center, 707 S. Miller Road, Valrico

* West Tampa Branch Library, 2312 W. Union St. Tampa.

Is My Vote Safe?

Supervisors of Elections are required to use election equipment that meets the state's stringent certification standards, and to perform a Logic & Accuracy Test on the equipment before every election.

With members of the media in attendance, Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections Craig Latimer performed that test Aug. 7.

During the test, a stack of pre-filled ballots are scanned through a random selection of the ballot scanners that will be used for all three methods of voting (Early Voting, Vote By Mail and Election Day voting) to ensure that the scanners are reading every position on the ballot and counting votes accurately.

After the Logic & Accuracy Test, the equipment is sealed and kept under camera surveillance until it is deployed to voting locations.

Other checks and balances that ensure the accuracy and integrity of vote tabulation include:

- comparing the number of voter check-ins with the number of ballots scanned

- posting paper results tapes from each scanner on the doors of polling

places after voting has concluded

- performing a manual audit by randomly choosing a race and precincts and

hand-counting those ballots to verify reported results.

Image via Patch.com

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