Monday is the last day to register for Hillsborough's Nov. 3 vote on the school half-penny tax

Editorial graphic by Plant City Community Website. Illustrative blurred community background: Wesley Chapel, Florida (August 2024), LittleT889 / Wikimedia Commons (CC0). Photo source · License

Monday, Oct. 5, is the last day Hillsborough County residents can register to vote in the Nov. 3 general election, according to the Supervisor of Elections. Florida requires registration at least 29 days before an election, and voters who miss the cutoff will not be able to weigh in on Referendum 3 — the question of whether to continue the half-cent sales surtax that has paid for school repairs across the county, including a rebuilt gymnasium at Tomlin Middle School.

Key dates for the Nov. 3 general election in Hillsborough County

Step	Date
Register to vote	Monday, Oct. 5, 2026
Early voting	Oct. 19 – Nov. 1, 2026
Request a mail ballot	By 5 p.m. Oct. 22, 2026
Election Day voting	Nov. 3, 2026, 7 a.m. – 7 p.m.

Source: votehillsborough.gov; votehillsborough.gov

What the ballot question actually asks

The ballot language asks whether a one-half cent school capital outlay sales surtax should be continued for a 10-year levy by the Hillsborough County School Board beginning Jan. 1, 2029, to fund air conditioning replacement and repairs, capital improvements, school security enhancements and other maintenance. The current surtax, approved by voters in 2018, expires in 2028. Halfpennypromise.com, the campaign site supporting the measure, describes it as a renewal at the same rate rather than a new tax.

Hillsborough County Public Schools officials said at a September town hall that the surtax costs the average taxpayer about $86 a year and that roughly 25% of the revenue comes from tourists spending money in the county. Groceries and prescription drugs are exempt, and large purchases are taxed only on the first $5,000. By law the money can go only toward buildings and equipment — not teacher pay or day-to-day operations.

Where the money went in Plant City

District officials counted more than 1,000 completed projects and about $1.5 billion in revenue since 2018. In Plant City, Plant City High School received new roofing, and Tomlin Middle School got more than $25 million worth of work: a new roof, insulation, floor and window repairs, an HVAC replacement and a gymnasium that was gutted and rebuilt.

Bryan Elementary School principal Tametha Simmons told the Plant City Observer the surtax paid for new air conditioning, outdoor fencing, car-line awnings and repainted perimeter doors, and that the school's brick facade was refaced as it marks its 100th anniversary. "Our kids are now able to come to a 100-year-old school that's been updated, with a working a/c," she said. School Board member Patty Rendon said about 20 percent of district schools are between 90 and 100 years old.

Spending is reviewed monthly by a Citizen Oversight Committee made up of community leaders, which receives information on vendors and proposed contracts. "Every dollar is verifiable," deputy superintendent of operations Chris Farkas said. Because major facility projects take two to three years to plan, district officials said approval this November would keep work moving without a funding gap when the current surtax ends. A virtual district town hall on the referendum is set for 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 15.

Three ways to cast a ballot

Vote-by-mail requests from the 2024 elections have expired, so anyone wanting a mail ballot this year must submit a new request; returned ballots must reach the elections office by 7 p.m. on Election Day. Voters casting ballots on Nov. 3 must go to the polling place assigned to their precinct, and some precinct locations changed for this election. The Supervisor of Elections' Voter Information Lookup shows your assigned polling place and a personalized sample ballot.