{"id":446682,"date":"2026-11-04T01:50:34","date_gmt":"2026-11-04T01:50:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/446682\/"},"modified":"2026-11-04T01:50:34","modified_gmt":"2026-11-04T01:50:34","slug":"election-day-2026-in-the-bay-area-what-voters-need-to-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/446682\/","title":{"rendered":"Election Day 2026 in the Bay Area: What voters need to know"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\" article <\/p>\n

TAMPA, Fla. – Election Day is here and polls are set to open across the Bay Area on Tuesday morning, with voting available from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. local time. Voters who have not already cast a ballot can head to their assigned precinct polling place to vote.<\/p>\n

Bay Area Election Day voting guide\u00a0 <\/p>\n

Unlike early voting, when voters can use any designated early voting site in their county, voters on Election Day must go to the polling place assigned to their precinct.<\/p>\n

Whether you’re voting in Citrus, DeSoto, Hardee, Hernando, Highlands, Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Sarasota or Sumter County, here’s what to know before heading to the polls.<\/p>\n

What you need to vote <\/p>\n

What you can do:<\/p>\n

Florida voters must present a valid photo ID that includes a signature when voting in person. If the photo ID does not include a signature, voters must provide another ID that does.<\/p>\n

Acceptable forms of identification include:<\/p>\n

Florida driver’s licenseFlorida identification cardU.S. passportDebit or credit cardMilitary identificationStudent identificationRetirement center identificationNeighborhood association identificationPublic assistance identificationVeteran health identification card issued by the U.S. Department of Veterans AffairsLicense to carry a concealed weapon or firearmGovernment employee identification <\/p>\n

Voters who cannot provide identification may vote on a provisional ballot. Election officials will determine whether the ballot can be counted.<\/p>\n

Flash flooding affects Bay Area polling places\u00a0 <\/p>\n

Why you should care:<\/p>\n

The Highlands County Supervisor of Elections announced that the polling location for Precinct 20 in Spring Lake has been moved because of flooding conditions and a power outage.<\/p>\n

Registered voters in Precinct 20 should go to the Penny Ogg Operations Center, 4504 Kenilworth Blvd., Sebring, FL 33870, instead of the usual polling location at the Spring Lake Community Center, 209 Spring Lake Blvd., Sebring, FL 33876.<\/p>\n

Precinct 20 voters can cast their ballots at the Penny Ogg Operations Center from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday.<\/p>\n

The change was made under Gov. Ron DeSantis\u2019 emergency order, Executive Order 26-227, according to the Highlands County Supervisor of Elections.<\/p>\n

DeSantis declared a state of emergency Monday because of heavy rainfall and flash flooding affecting parts of the state, including DeSoto, Hardee and Highlands counties.<\/p>\n

PREVIOUS: Florida flash flooding: State of Emergency allows polling place changes ahead of Election Day<\/a><\/p>\n

The emergency order also allows local supervisors of elections in flood-impacted areas to designate alternative polling places to help residents cast their ballots.<\/p>\n

The Florida Department of State is tracking polling-place changes reported by local election officials. Voters in affected areas should check directly with their county Supervisor of Elections before heading to the polls to confirm their assigned location. You can see a list of the changes here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The state of emergency includes Brevard, DeSoto, Hardee, Highlands, Indian River, Martin and St. Lucie counties.<\/p>\n

Find your Election Day polling place by county <\/p>\n

**Important:** Election Day polling places are assigned by precinct. Check your polling location before leaving home, as it may be different from an early voting site. Voters can use the Florida Division of Elections’ precinct lookup<\/a> tool to find their assigned polling place.<\/p>\n

\"\" Citrus County voting <\/p>\n

Citrus County voters can find their assigned Election Day polling place through the Citrus County Supervisor of Elections <\/a>website.<\/p>\n

Here is a list <\/a>of the county’s precinct locations.<\/p>\n

\"\" DeSoto County voting <\/p>\n

DeSoto County voters can check their assigned polling place through the DeSoto County Supervisor of Elections <\/a>website.<\/p>\n

\"\" Hardee County voting <\/p>\n

Hardee County voters can find Election Day polling information through the Hardee County Supervisor of Elections <\/a>website.<\/p>\n

\"\" Hernando County voting <\/p>\n

Hernando County voters must vote at their assigned precinct polling place. Find polling information through the Hernando County Supervisor of Elections <\/a>website.<\/p>\n

Here is a list <\/a>of the county’s precinct locations.<\/p>\n

\"\" Highlands County voting <\/p>\n

Highlands County voters can look up their assigned Election Day polling place through the Highlands County Supervisor of Elections <\/a>website.<\/p>\n

\"\" Hillsborough County voting <\/p>\n

Hillsborough County voters must vote at the polling place assigned to their precinct. The county has a precinct finder and Election Day polling information <\/a>available online.<\/p>\n

\"\" Manatee County voting <\/p>\n

Manatee County voters can find their assigned Election Day polling place through the Manatee County Supervisor of Elections <\/a>website.<\/p>\n

\"\" Pasco County voting <\/p>\n

Pasco County voters can find their assigned polling place through the Pasco County Supervisor of Elections <\/a>website.<\/p>\n

Free bus rides to the polls <\/p>\n

Pasco County voters can ride GoPasco buses for free on Election Day from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.<\/p>\n

The free rides are being offered through a partnership between GoPasco and Pasco County Supervisor of Elections Brian E. Corley. Riders must present a valid Voter Information Card to use the service.<\/p>\n

For bus routes, transportation updates and schedules, visit here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\" Pinellas County voting <\/p>\n

Pinellas County voters can find their assigned Election Day polling place through the Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections <\/a>website.<\/p>\n

\"\" Polk County voting <\/p>\n

Polk County voters can check their assigned polling place through the Polk County Supervisor of Elections <\/a>website.<\/p>\n

\"\" Sarasota County voting <\/p>\n

Sarasota County voters can use the Sarasota County Supervisor of Elections precinct finder <\/a>to find their assigned Election Day polling place.<\/p>\n

\"\" Sumter County voting <\/p>\n

Sumter County voters can find polling place information through the Sumter County Supervisor of Elections <\/a>website.<\/p>\n

What time do polls close in Florida? <\/p>\n

What’s next:<\/p>\n

Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. local time on Tuesday. Voters who are in line when polls close at 7 p.m. are allowed to cast a ballot.<\/p>\n

Voters should confirm their assigned polling place before heading out. Early voting locations are not necessarily the same as Election Day polling places.<\/p>\n

The Source: The information in this story was gathered from the Florida Division of Elections, county Supervisors of Elections across 12 Bay Area counties and GoPasco transit officials.<\/p>\n

Florida<\/a>2026 Elections<\/a>Florida Politics<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"article TAMPA, Fla. – Election Day is here and polls are set to open across the Bay Area…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":446683,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[114192,47,4833,115,135,137,136,628],"class_list":["post-446682","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-elections-2026","tag-fl","tag-florida-politics","tag-news","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news","tag-us"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/446682","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=446682"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/446682\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/446683"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=446682"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=446682"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=446682"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}