Here's Who's Running; 171 Hillsborough Candidates Qualify

TAMPA, FL -- At noon Friday, June 22, Florida's candidate qualifying period closed, which means the deadline to officially run for office in 2018 has passed.

"This is an important day because we now know who will be on our Primary Election ballot," said Craig Latimer, Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections.

A list of local candidates who qualified with Hillsborough County is available at VoteHillsborough.org. They include candidates for sheriff, county commission, school board, county court judge, soil and water conservation districts, Community Development Districts and Special Taxing Districts.

Candidates for federal, state and multi-county offices qualify with the state and are found on the Florida Division of Elections website. They include 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.

The "Qualified" status for candidates is not official until the Notice of Ballot Certification is issued by the Department of State (no later than seven days after the close of qualifying). Qualified candidates who are unopposed will not appear on the ballot and shall be declared nominated for office, as per Florida law (FS 101.252).

By mid-July, voters will be able to view a sample ballot at VoteHillsborough.org and see which races will be on their Primary ballot. Primary ballots are based on the districts you live in and party affiliation. Florida has closed primaries, so voters must be registered with a political party to vote in that party's Primary Election.

All voters, whether affiliated with a party or not, will vote on nonpartisan races (including school board and judges) and Universal Primary Contests, which occur when all candidates in a race have the same party affiliation and the winner will be unopposed in the General Election.

"I want to remind voters that some school board and judges races could be decided during the Primary Election, and those are nonpartisan races that will be on everyone's ballot," said Latimer.

Voters may change their party at any time, but to be valid for the upcoming Primary, the change must be made by July 30, which is also the deadline to register to vote for the Primary Election.

Key dates:

* Ballots mailed to overseas and absent military voters who have requested Vote By Mail: July 13

* Ballots mailed to domestic voters who have requested Vote By Mail: Beginning July 24

* Deadline to request Vote By Mail: Aug. 22

* Deadline to register or change party affiliation: July 30 (postmarked or delivered by close of business)

* Primary Election Early Voting: Aug. 13 - 26, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.

* Primary Election Day: Aug. 28, 7 a.m. - 7 p.m.

* Vote By Mail deadline: In the Supervisor of Elections Office no later than 7 p.m. Aug. 28.