TAMPA, Fla. — Tuesday, Sept. 20, marks National Voter Registration Day, with multiple registration events planned in Tampa Bay.
“We love to see people wanting to register to vote,” said Teresa Potter, president of the League of Women Voters of Hillsborough County. The group plans to sign people up at Hillsborough Community College from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday.
What You Need To Know
- Tuesday is National Voter Registration Day
- The Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections Office and League of Women Voters of Hillsborough County are among the groups holding voter registration events
- If you can't register on Tuesday, you still have time - the deadline to register ahead of the general election is Oct. 11
While Potter said the Hillsborough LVW, which also serves Pasco County, doesn’t register enough voters to see a statistically significant increase, there appears to be more interest than in years past.
“One of the things that we’ve noticed is that people do seem really excited to vote, even though it’s a midterm election, especially at our most recent student events. Students have been coming up to the table, asking how to make sure that their addresses are correct,” Potter said.
The Pasco County Supervisor of Elections Office posted sample ballots to its website to help voters prepare. Supervisor Brian Corley said the county is definitely seeing an increase in registrations, likely due in part to its growing population.
“Can’t say, can’t attribute it to anything in particular, other than business is good as far as voter registration,” Corley said. “I do think we’re going to see a pretty strong, vibrant turnout, much like we saw in 2018, the last midterm.”
According to the Florida Dept. of State’s Florida Division of Elections website, the state saw 37,895 additional people register to vote as of July 31.
St. Leo University Political Science Professor Frank Orlando cited more people moving to the state as one reason. Orlando said it’s hard to say if any particular issue, like the overturning of Roe v. Wade, played a role.
“I think we’re heading to record registration, obviously, and I think record turnout because of the importance and salience of things like the Dobbs decision, but also inflation and other economic factors,” Orlando said.
The Hillsborough Supervisor of Elections Office is holding registration events around the county on Tuesday.
Those locations are:
Wharton High School
20150 Bruce B. Downs Blvd.
8:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Metro Inclusive Health
2105 N. Nebraska Ave.
10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
HCC
Ybor Plaza
2112 N. 15th St.
10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
St. Joseph's Hospital - North
4211 Van Dyke Rd.
10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
HCC - SouthShore Campus
551 24th St. NE
11 a.m. - 1 p.m.
University of South Florida
Edgar W. Koop Building (Engineering Bldg 1)
12 p.m. - 2 p.m.
Cooley Law School
9445 Camden Field Pkwy.
12 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Tampa Preparatory School
727 West Cass St.
2:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Fred B. Karl County Center
16th Floor
601 E. Kennedy Blvd.
8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Robert L. Gilder Elections Service Center
2514 N. Falkenburg Rd.
8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Supervisor of Elections Southeast Regional Office
10020 S. US Hwy 301
8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Supervisor of Elections Northwest Regional Office
4575 Gunn Hwy
8 a.m. - 5 p.m.