Polk County primary early voting begins Aug. 8 at Bartow election headquarters

Early voting for Polk County’s Aug. 18, 2026, primary begins Saturday, Aug. 8, with the county’s election headquarters in Bartow serving as one of the available early-voting locations.

The Polk County Supervisor of Elections scheduled early voting for eight days, from Aug. 8 through Aug. 15. Listed hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

For Bartow residents and other Polk County voters, the schedule provides an opportunity to cast a ballot before Election Day rather than waiting until the Aug. 18 primary. The county election office identifies Bartow as the location of its headquarters and says Polk County voters may use the headquarters for registration and election services.

What voters need to know

Early voting is available during the Aug. 8-15 period at the Bartow headquarters and other locations designated by the county. The approved election notice does not display the complete list of early-voting sites, so voters should check the Supervisor of Elections’ current information before traveling.

The notice lists early-voting hours as 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. It does not establish in the available information that every early-voting site has identical hours, so voters using a location other than the Bartow headquarters should confirm the details for that site.

The primary itself is scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026. The source packet does not identify the candidates or contests that will appear on the Bartow ballot, and it does not characterize the primary as open to all voters.

Vote-by-mail deadlines

For voters using a vote-by-mail ballot, the listed deadline to request a ballot by mail was Aug. 6, 2026, at 5 p.m. That request deadline has passed as early voting begins Aug. 8.

The listed deadline to return a vote-by-mail ballot is 7 p.m. on Aug. 18, 2026. Voters who already have a mail ballot should account for that deadline when deciding how and when to return it.

The early-voting schedule and deadlines were posted by the Polk County Supervisor of Elections. The Bartow location gives city residents a local county election site, while the county’s full early-voting list and any site-specific instructions remain important for voters planning to vote away from headquarters.