The presidential election is in November 2024. The Florida primary is on March 19, 2024. Following the 2020 election, the Florida State Legislature made changes to election laws including ones that recently went into effect this year. One that will have effect a wide range of Floridians deals with the right to cast a ballot by mail.
If you wish to vote by mail, the ‘Vote By Mail’ ballot requests now expire after every general election. If you want to receive Vote By Mail ballots for the 2024 elections, you must submit a new request. The quickest way to make that request is to use the Supervisor of Elections Office’s online request form by visiting www.votehillsborough.gov/votebymail or call 813-744-5900.
You will be asked to provide either your Florida driver’s license, ID number or the last four digits of your social security number to verify your identity.
Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections Craig Latimer said, “If you like to vote by mail and you have not requested your mail ballots for 2024, I urge you to visit votehillsborough.gov and submit your new request right now while you are thinking about it. You can also call my office during business hours and we can process your request right over the phone. It only takes a few minutes.”
Latimer added, “We have been working hard to make sure voters know about the change in the law by sharing the information through email, mailings, newsletters, social media and local presentations. Please help me spread the word so that voters who like to vote by mail will not miss out in 2024.”
The Supervisor of Elections Office has also added a new Vote By Mail notification system called BallotTrax. The office uses BallotTrax to send you email notifications when your requested Vote By Mail ballot is mailed out and it receives your voted ballot back. If you visit the BallotTrax enrollment website, you can also add text or phone notifications and specify your preferred language and contact hours. If you do not wish to receive automatic email notifications, it is easy to opt out.
One thing to keep in mind about the upcoming elections is dates. You must be registered to vote in the March primary by February 20, 2024. And remember, Florida is a closed primary state, which means you must be registered with a party to vote in the primary. Once registered, you must request your Vote By Mail ballot by 5 p.m. on the 12th day before the election.
For more information, please visit voter@votehillsborough.gov.
