Early voting is open, and more than 3 million Floridians already have cast their vote in the presidential election.
Hillsborough County is continuing to break records compared with previous elections.
Craig Latimer, the Hillsborough County supervisor of elections, said the county has received more vote-by-mail ballots than during the entire 2016 election.
The county also reported higher numbers of early in-person voters than ever before. Early voting started Monday.
This year, Hillsborough County has 26 early voting locations, which are open every day from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. until Nov. 1. Other Tampa Bay counties are seeing heavy turnouts, as well, including Polk, Pasco, Pinellas, Sarasota and Manatee.
Changes made to Black Friday to prevent COVID-19 spread
Retailers are adjusting Black Friday shopping spree procedures to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Many retailers are looking to free curbside pickup options to keep customers safe and socially distanced from one another.
Through these procedures, companies are hoping to prevent the immense crowds from gathering and possibly infecting one another.
Walmart is spreading deals over multiple days in November and limiting capacity in stores.
Event 1 starts online on Wednesday, Nov. 4 at 7 p.m. ET., with more new deals will rolling out on Nov. 7 online at 12 a.m., and 5 a.m. local time in stores.
Event 2 will begin online on Wednesday, Nov. 11 at 7 p.m., with more deals coming to Walmart.com on Saturday, Nov. 14 at 12 a.m., and in stores starting at 5 a.m. local time.
The Walmart month of savings will wrap up with the third Black Friday Deals for Days event online on Wednesday, Nov. 25 at 7 p.m. New deals will be available Nov. 27 online at 12 a.m. and in stores 5 a.m. local time.
Retailers hope that limiting capacity in stores will help keep their shelves stocked during the Black Friday sales. Many retailers are still struggling to recover supplies from COVID-19 closures.
In early October, nearly 20,000 workers at Amazon and Whole Foods Market tested positive for COVID-19, causing a domino effect that companies are hoping to avoid heading into the busiest shopping time of the year.
Many major retailers have announced that they will be closed for Thanksgiving Day but have not announced their plans for Black Friday store hours yet.
Virtual K-12 students may still qualify for meal delivery
Students in Hillsborough County who are attending classes virtually may qualify for free meal delivery.
One in four children do not know where their next meal will come from.
Meals on Wheels Tampa will deliver nutritious meals to children aged 18 and younger.
The free service is helping ensure kids are fed despite school closure due to COVID-19 and is available to families who are experiencing difficulty accessing food pantries or distribution sites.
The program services residents in the 33613 zip code (the Lake Magdalene neighborhoods and the University Area) and will soon expand further to north Hillsborough County.
“It’s really nice because there are a lot of kids that are not going back to school just yet, and they really rely on the school district for meals, so this is a way for them to still eat during the school year,” said Asianna Lolito, a volunteer for Meals on Wheels.
Deliveries are made between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. out of Mort Elementary School.
Find out if a volunteer could deliver to your doorstep here.
Credits
Anchors: Trevor Lloyd, Caylee Cottrell
Reporters: Cheyenne Pagan, Deanna Lampasona-Colon
Producer: James Birmingham
Writers: Demi Asensio
Graphics editors: Nova Charles
Video Editors: Demi Asensio
Show Editor: Vanessa Gallupo, Demi Asensio
Associate Producer: Garrett Shiflet, Niamh Larkin
Web Editor/Social Media Producer: Niamh Larkin
Graduate Assistant: Emmanuel Maduneme
Faculty Adviser: Jeanette Abrahamsen, Wayne Garcia
