FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 12, 2026Contact: Gerri Kramer, [email protected]; Desk (813) 367-8827; Cell (813) 415-4337Supervisor of Elections has Qualified more than 200 Hillsborough County Candi

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 12, 2026Contact: Gerri Kramer, [email protected]; Desk (813) 367-8827; Cell (813) 415-4337Supervisor of Elections has Qualified more than 200 Hillsborough County Candidates for 2026Hillsborough County, FL – At noon today, Florida’s candidate qualifying period for 2026 closed.  “This is an important day because we are determining the candidates who will be on the ballot in 2026,” said Craig Latimer, Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections.The status of local candidates who qualified with Hillsborough County can be found at VoteHillsborough.gov. They include candidates for County Commission, School Board, County Court Judge, Soil and Water Conservation Districts, Community Development Districts and Special Taxing Districts. Candidates for U.S. Senator, U.S. Representative, Governor, Attorney General, Chief Financial Officer, Commissioner of Agriculture, State Senator, State Representative, Supreme Court Justice, District Court of Appeal and Circuit Judge seats will be posted on the Florida Division of Elections website. All voters will have races to vote on in this Primary Election. There will be three different ballots – a Republican ballot, a Democratic ballot, and a nonpartisan ballot. Nonpartisan judicial and School Board races and any Universal Primary Contests will be on everyone’s Primary Election ballot. Universal Primary Contests occur when all candidates for a seat have the same party affiliation and the winner would be unopposed in the General Election. Republican and Democratic Primary ballots will also include races in which more than one candidate of the same party qualified. The Primary determines which of those candidates will move on to the General Election.  In Florida, voters must be registered with a political party to vote in that party’s Primary races. Voters may change their party at any time, but to be valid for the upcoming primary, the change must be made by July 20, which is also the deadline to register to vote for the Primary Election. By early July, voters can look up their sample ballot at VoteHillsborough.gov and see which races will be on their Primary ballot.Key Dates:July 2: Ballots mailed to absent military and overseas voters who have requested Vote By MailJuly 16: Ballots mailed to domestic voters who have requested Vote By MailJuly 20: Deadline to register or change party affiliationAugust 3 - 16, 10 AM – 6 PM: Early VotingAugust 6, 5 PM: Deadline to request a Vote By Mail ballotAugust 18, 7 AM – 7 PM: Election DayAugust 18, 7 PM: Deadline for Supervisor of Elections Office to receive voted Vote By Mail ballots More information on candidates and elections is available at VoteHillsborough.gov.