By Kayla Tatro
TAMPA – Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections Craig Latimer urged USF students to
recognize the power and responsibility of voting during a voter-education session on Oct. 8, 2026, at the Marshall Student Center.
He said that young voters have the potential to shape local elections but often fail to participate.
Latimer, a USF alumnus born and raised in Hillsborough County, spoke to students about
civic engagement ahead of the upcoming election cycle. The event was hosted by USF’s Center for Leadership & Civic Engagement to make voter education more accessible on campus.
Latimer outlined the mission of his office, which he said is guided by three rules:
follow the law, do the right thing and provide good customer service.
“Make the right decision despite the fallout,” Latimer said, explaining that election officials must often
weigh political ramifications against social consequences when making decisions.
He highlighted the county’s demographic makeup, noting that the 18–25 age group is the
second-largest voting population in Hillsborough County, behind residents ages 60–80.
Despite their size, he said, young voters consistently have the lowest turnout.
“Local elections impact the 18–25 group the most,” Latimer said, adding that many students do
not realize how directly local offices affect their daily lives.
Latimer pointed to a troubling trend. In recent elections, more than 30,000 voters cast
ballots for president but skipped the rest of the ballot, leaving critical local positions
under-represented.
“Every vote is important in local elections as well as primary,” he said.
Hillsborough County saw only 26% turnout in the most recent primary election, a number
he hopes to improve through outreach and education.
His office, he explained, conducts outreach at every high school twice a year, helping 16
and 17-year-olds pre-register to vote. Outreach teams also visit every college campus at
least once a year, including USF, to encourage students to register and understand the
voting process.
Latimer said awareness often depends on how students are raised, noting that many first-time voters arrive at college without guidance on how elections work.
Food was offered to draw students in between classes, and the event was hosted by USF’s Center for Leadership & Civic Engagement to make voter education more accessible on campus.
Latimer also shared personal background to help students understand his path to public
service. Before entering election administration, he worked as a crime scene investigator,
later serving in the sheriff’s office in K-9, undercover and homicide units. He moved up
through leadership roles, eventually overseeing more than 100 civilian supervisors in child
protective services. He became Chief of Staff in 2004 and retired in 2008 before returning
to public service through election work.
Latimer was first elected Supervisor of Elections in 2012 and is now serving his fourth term, one of five constitutional officers in the county.
He also described challenges faced by election officials, including a past incident in which
800 ballots were not counted, prompting an FBI investigation into a previous supervisor. In
another election, a race split by 82 votes required both scanned and hand-counted ballots.
Latimer said these moments highlight why accuracy, transparency, and public trust are
essential to the election process.
Sawyer Bowman, a Democracy Fellow at USF, asked Latimer whether his thinking had changed over his years in office and whether he was preparing for a post-election break. Latimer said that while the responsibilities remain similar, the political and social consequences of decisions have grown.
Bowman said he appreciated hearing directly from a constitutional officer.
Latimer reminded students that Hillsborough County has more than 800,000
registered voters, and their participation matters. He encouraged students to register
early, verify their polling locations and vote in both primary and local elections.
Reporter Kayla Tatro is a journalism student in the Beginning Reporting class at USF’s Mass Communications school in Tampa.