HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — The 2024 presidential race is well underway, with several states already holding their primary elections to decide who will top the Republican and Democratic tickets in November.

Floridians across the state will have a chance to make their voice heard on Tuesday, March 19. 

Tuesday is an important day as it’s the last day to register to vote or change your party affiliation ahead of the presidential preference primaries.

The Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections office started sending out mail-in ballots for the primary last week. Florida is a closed primary state, which means you can only vote for candidates in the party you are registered with.

If you are an independent, you can only vote in non-party primary races.

Supervisor of Elections Craig Latimer said his office has made registering to vote and changing party affiliation as simple as a few clicks on its website.

“It’s very important,” said Latimer. “I mean, this is how you nominate the person who you want to move forward. So, it’s important for people to get out and get their voices heard.

“And by the way, they have until Feb. 20 to vote in this election or to change their party affiliation if they want to do that,” he said.

And, there is a rules change for mail-in voting: Residents now have to request a mail-in ballot for every election in Florida.

Previously, residents were able to check a box on your current mail-in ballot to continue voting by mail.

Voters now have to make a request for every election and you can do that online or at any local supervisor of elections office.

The General Election will take place on Nov. 5 this year, with a voter registration deadline of Oct. 7.

Early voting dates for the primary and general elections have yet to be confirmed.