HURRICANE RELATED MEDIA ADVISORY: September 11 Voter Registration Deadline for Special and Municipal Elections in Hillsborough and Orange Counties

Please Share This Important Voter Information with Your Readers or Viewers  

Potential voters temporarily displaced by Hurricane Irma, can print out voter registration applications online and mail them to their Supervisors of Elections.  If they are postmarked by Monday, September 11, the application can still be processed for these elections. The Supervisor of Elections Offices will not be open on Monday, September 11. 

In Hillsborough County, the October 10 Special Election for Florida House District 58 and the Election for the Mayor of the City of Temple Terrace have a voter registration deadline on Monday, September 11.  The Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections website reports:  

“All Hillsborough County government offices, including the Supervisor of Elections Offices, are closed Friday, September 8 through Monday, September 11, due to Hurricane Irma.  Our Offices will re-open Tuesday, September 12.” 

In Orange County, the October 10 Special Election for House District 44 has a registration deadline on Monday, September 11. The Orange County Supervisor of Elections website reports: 

“The Orange County Supervisor of Elections office will be closed to the public, effective at 1 PM Friday, September 8th, and will remain closed through Monday, September 11th. Reopening to the public beyond that point will be dictated by the duration and severity of Hurricane Irma’s impact upon Orange County.”

Florida Voter Registration Applications, along with information about eligibility, can be found here: https://tinyurl.com/hkh6s3q  One can fill-in the form online, print out and sign.  Mail the completed form to your county Supervisor of Elections.

For Orange County Mail to:

Orange County Supervisor of Elections

PO Box 562001

Orlando, FL 32856-2001

For Hillsborough County Mail to:

Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections

2514 N. Falkenburg Rd.

Tampa FL 33619-0917 

If a potential registrant is in another county of Florida during the hurricane, Common Cause Florida wants to make sure that they know they can still register by taking advantage of the features of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, which mandated that states provide voter registrations at a variety of government entities.  You can register at any of the following government offices that might be open on Monday, September 11.  

A Supervisors of Elections Office in another county – contact information: http://tinyurl.com/hcp62fw 

A Florida Public Library- county and municipal locations by county : https://tinyurl.com/yc8k7blw 

Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles Office or Tax Collector’s Offices that issue Florida Driver Licenses or Florida Identification cards. 

In addition, these Voter Registration Agencies in Florida can provide and accept voter registration applications from any applicant no matter what county they reside in by the deadline of Monday, September 11, 2017. 

Offices that provide public assistance:

Department of Health’s Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)

Department of Children and Families (SNAP), TANF etc. 

Offices that provide state funded programs for persons with disabilities

Agency for Persons with Disabilities

Department of Veteran’s Affairs

Department of Education (Division of Blind Services, Division of Vocational Rehabilitation)

Department of Financial Services (Division of Workers’ Compensation)

Disability Offices at public colleges and universities (Armed Forces Recruitment Offices, Centers for Independent Living) 

You can also obtain a Florida Voter Registration Application form from any entity authorized by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission to issue permits for fishing, hunting or trapping. Complete, sign and mail the application to your county Supervisor of Elections. 

We encourage you to share this information with your audience and urge you to promote any information about changes in early voting and Election Day polling places that may be damaged by the storm and information about Vote-By-Mail ballots that need to be replaced because of damage or loss.  Access to the election process is important to all Floridians.