Polk County Early Voting Runs Through Oct. 31 at 10 Sites Countywide

Early voting in the Nov. 3 general election opened Monday at 10 sites across Polk County, and the Supervisor of Elections office is keeping every one of them open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily through Saturday, Oct. 31.

Any registered Polk County voter may cast a ballot at any of the 10 sites while early voting is running. That flexibility ends on Election Day, when voters are limited to the precinct polling place assigned to their address. Polls on Nov. 3 open at 7 a.m. and close at 7 p.m.

Voters need a current photo identification that also carries a signature. The elections office says a voter information card is helpful but does not count as valid identification on its own, and it publishes the full list of acceptable Florida documents on its website.

The nearer deadline belongs to vote-by-mail. A request for a mail ballot has to reach the Supervisor of Elections by 5 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 22. A voted mail ballot then has to be in the elections office’s hands by 7 p.m. on Election Day, which means received rather than postmarked.

Mail ballots can also be handed in rather than mailed. Every early voting site doubles as a secure ballot intake station during voting hours, and both election offices take them on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Election Headquarters is at 250 S. Broadway Ave. in Bartow, and the Elections Operations Center is at 70 Florida Citrus Blvd. in Winter Haven. Return postage on mail ballots is already paid.

Citrus Connection is offering free rides on its fixed bus routes during early voting and on Election Day, and riders must show a voter registration card to the operator.

These are the 10 early voting sites, listed by city:

• Bartow, Polk Street Community Center, 1255 Polk St.
• Davenport, Polk Sheriff’s Northeast District Office community room, 1100 Dunson Road
• Haines City, Haines City Library, 111 N. Sixth St.
• Lake Alfred, Northeast Polk Government Center, 200 Government Center Blvd.
• Lake Wales, Lake Wales Family Recreation Center, 1001 Burns Ave.
• Lakeland, Polk County Government Center, 930 E. Parker St.
• Lakeland, Simpson Park Community Center, 1725 Martin L. King Jr. Ave.
• Mulberry, Mulberry Civic Center, 901 NE Fifth St.
• Poinciana, Poinciana Community Fitness Center, 397 Marigold Ave.
• Winter Haven, Nora Mayo Hall, 500 Third St. NW

Registration for this election closed Oct. 5. That was also the last day to change a party affiliation or to update voter information in time for the change to apply to the November ballot.

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Sources: “2026 General Election,” Polk County Supervisor of Elections, polkelections.gov, undated; “Early Voting & Secure Ballot Intake Station Locations,” Polk County Supervisor of Elections, polkelections.gov, undated; “Early Voting Locations for the 2026 General Election,” Polk County Supervisor of Elections, polkelections.gov, Oct. 14, 20