Julie Marcus appointed Pinellas Supervisor of Elections

Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed Julie Marcus Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections, effective Tuesday.

Marcus is replacing Deborah Clark who announced she was retiring earlier this year. The appointment is temporary with an election scheduled this year for the vacant seat. Marcus hasn’t filed to run yet, but is expected to do so.

If she runs, she’ll face Audra Bonneau in the Republican primary. She’s likely to garner support from her predecessor. Clark recommended her appointment to DeSantis.

Marcus has served as the chief deputy to Clark since 2012 and has been with the office for 17 years. She’s held a variety of positions including deputy supervisor, election services coordinator and voter outreach manager.

Throughout her service, Marcus has administered more than 320 municipal elections and dozens of recounts and annual audits.

She’s been a Certified Elections Registration Administrator since 2011, the highest national certification available through The Election Center at Auburn University, or the National Association of Election Officials.

At 247,225 registered voters, Democrats outnumber Republicans in the county by about 10,000, but there are nearly as many independent and third party affiliated voters, at 195,476. That leaves little room for partisan advantage.

Still, four Democrats are running in the August primary election including attorney Dan Helm, Clearwater resident Ruqaiya McGee, Mike McGraw and pollster Leonard Schmiege.

McGee is the only Democrat to post fundraising so far with $578 raised as of the end of April, the most recent data available on the Supervisor of Elections website.

Clark left office Mar. 31.