Hillsborough tests voting machines, reminds voters of key Florida primary deadlines

TAMPA, Fla. - As Florida's primary election draws closer, Hillsborough County election officials have completed one of the most important steps before voting begins: publicly testing the machines that will count ballots.

Hillsborough election equipment testing

The backstory:

The Hillsborough County Canvassing Board conducted its required logic and accuracy test Thursday, running pre-marked ballots through a random selection of scanners that will be used during early voting, on Election Day and to tabulate vote-by-mail ballots.

"This test deck is one that we've compiled so that we know what the outcome is going to be," Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections Craig Latimer said. "After we run the test deck, the canvassing board will then verify that it has accurate results."

Florida law requires election officials to publicly test voting equipment before every election.

According to the Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections Office, the test confirmed ballot scanners correctly read every contest on the ballot and counted votes accurately.

After testing, the equipment is sealed and kept under camera surveillance until it is deployed to polling places. Election officials also conduct a post-election audit after every election.

"We've never had a mistake on any of the machines," Latimer said. "After the election, we have a post-election audit that takes place. This is to verify that the machines are, in fact, counting correctly."

Election security

Why you should care:

The public testing is one of several safeguards built into Florida's election process before voting begins.

Officials say election security includes equipment testing, chain-of-custody procedures, signature verification for vote-by-mail ballots and post-election audits.

"The elections in the state are extremely secure and accurate," Latimer said. "Everything we do is in state law and administrative rule... to make sure that we're running accurate, fair, honest elections and transparent elections."

Voter registration and deadlines

What you can do:

Election officials are also reminding voters of several important deadlines.

The voter registration deadline for Florida's Aug. 18 primary election is Monday, July 20. That's also the deadline to change political party affiliation for voters who want to participate in a partisan primary.

The Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections Office has also begun mailing more than 127,000 vote-by-mail ballots to voters who have already requested one.

If you want to vote by mail this year, you'll need to submit a new request. Previous vote-by-mail requests from the 2024 election cycle have expired.

The deadline to request a vote-by-mail ballot is 5 p.m. on Aug. 6.

Requests can be made [online here] through VoteHillsborough.gov or by calling 813-612-4180.

Primary election calendar

What's next:

Early voting in Hillsborough County begins Aug. 3 and continues through Aug. 16.

Florida's primary election is Tuesday, Aug. 18. Vote-by-mail ballots must be received by the Supervisor of Elections Office no later than 7 p.m. on Election Day to be counted.

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