Early voting starts Monday across Tampa Bay: What to know before casting your midterm ballot

Early voting for the midterm elections starts Monday for most of Tampa Bay, giving voters their first chance to weigh in on some of Florida's biggest races and a way to beat the lines on Election Day.

Unlike Election Day, you don't have to use your assigned precinct. You can vote at any early-voting site in your county.

In Hillsborough County, that's 27 early-voting locations to choose from. In Pinellas County, there are 7.

WATCH: Early voting starts Monday across Tampa Bay: What to know before casting your midterm ballot Early voting for the midterm elections begins Monday for most of Tampa Bay

For the 2026 General Election, heres the Tampa Bay breakdown:

Hillsborough: October 19th - November 1st Pinellas: October 19th - November 1st Pasco: October 19th - October 31st Manatee: Begins October 19th Sarasota: October 19th - November 1st Hernando: October 22nd - October 31st Citrus: October 22nd - October 31st

You can also bring your mail-in ballot to any of those locations. Those mail-in ballots have to be back by Oct. 22, before Election Day, set for Nov. 3.

On the ballot will be those big races, including the race for governor, U.S. Senate and Amendment 3.

We went with our political analyst Dr. Susan MacManus, who explains why early voting could give us insight on how Election Day itself could play out.

"It's obviously something that's going to be watched because far more people, far more people vote in person early than vote by mail or even on election day," MacManus said. "So this is why this whole couple weeks of early voting is so exciting and at the same time so scary for the candidates and the parties but of interest to everybody," MacManus said.

Be sure to check with your local Supervisor of Elections office for more information where you live before heading out to the polls.