Democracy dying? On Election Day AM, St. Pete polling places are ghost towns

Pinellas Community Church, historically one of the city's busiest polling places, was a ghost town Tuesday morning.

Polling places in St. Petersburg City Council District 5 were barren Tuesday morning as polls opened during what is usually one of the busiest parts of the day.

During the first hour and a half of voting Tuesday morning, only a handful of people trickled in and out of Pinellas Community Church on 31st St. South near 54th Ave.

The multi-precinct polling place is usually the busiest in the district, but the presence of an election was barely noticeable. 

Only two candidates placed signs around the entrance — Beth Connor and Anne Hirsch.

Election Day is usually on full display at polling places as candidates clutter rights-of-way with their signs, hoping for last minute votes. 

Candidates and their surrogates, typically on hand to deliver last minute messages to voters, were also mostly absent. 

Only Hirsch was present at Pinellas Community Church Tuesday morning until a few minutes after 8 a.m. She and a campaign volunteer left after watching the stagnant voting activity. 

“The people in power don’t want people to vote,” Hirsch explained the slow day.  

She said it benefits the power structure by keeping turnout low, blaming the city of St. Pete for not better promoting a sense of civic duty. 

The city does have a page on its website for this year’s election, which contains links to campaign documents and finance reports, as well as information about voting and for candidates.

But there’s nothing on the city’s homepage – the first place most residents go to – about local elections. 

Hirsch also pointed a finger at the Tampa Bay Times for lackluster coverage of the St. Pete City Council races this year.

The Election Day vibe was a little better about a mile down the road at District 5’s other multi-precinct polling place. All five candidates had signs posted at the entrance to Lake Vista Recreation Center. 

Still, only one person was outside handing out candidate information for Deborah Figgs-Sanders, one of the race’s frontrunners. She and a poll worker exiting the polling place lamented the slow trickle of voters throughout the morning. 

City Council member Steve Kornell, the District 5 incumbent who will be replaced when a new member is elected and sworn in, passed by, but not to vote. He said he mailed his ballot early; he did not say who got his vote. 

District 5 is one of three races on Tuesday’s ballot and it’s the only one that’s competitive. Districts 3 and 7 are also on the ballot.

Incumbents Ed Montanari and Lisa Wheeler-Bowman are seeking reelection to those seats, respectively. Both only have one viable opponent, which means the results of their races after polls close are almost certain. 

District 5, however, is an open race with three candidates all campaigning aggressively and two others also running. Figgs-Sanders, Connor and Trenia Cox are all battling for a spot in the top-two in order to advance to the general election Nov. 5. 

As of Monday night, turnout was trending low. Based solely on mail ballots, District 5 turnout was at 13 percent, District 7 at 9 percent and District 3, the city’s most active voting district, was at 15 percent.

While that is low turnout, it’s on par with historic averages in odd number City Council races when a mayoral candidate is not on the ballot. Turnout typically hovers around 14 or 15 percent.