Janelle Irwin Taylor
Two new early voting sites will open in Pinellas County for the 2022 General Election.
The new sites will mean 91% of Pinellas County residents will live within five miles of an early voting location, and all voters will be within three miles of a mail ballot drop-off location.
“Expanding access to the ballot box in a deliberate and thoughtful way is a priority of my administration,” Supervisor of Elections Julie Marcus said. “While there’s a point of diminishing returns on the number of early voting sites, the data supports adding two more sites to meet the needs of those voters choosing to vote early.”
The new voting sites will be located at the Countryside Recreation Center at 2640 Sabal Springs Drive in Clearwater and the J.W. Cate Recreation Center at 5801 22nd Avenue North in St. Petersburg.
The locations were chosen strategically. Each must meet a series of criteria including early voting requirements within Florida law. They must be equally accessible to all voters, be located near mass transit, have proper entrances and exits, and ample space to accommodate a high volume of voters.
The new sites will bring the number of early voting locations from the current five, to seven. Each location will also have mail ballot drop boxes available for voters. The sites will be open from Monday, Oct. 24 through Sunday, Nov. 6, from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m., the maximum amount of time allowable under Florida law.
Voters, as with previous elections, will be able to choose whether to vote by mail, vote early at an early voting location or cast a ballot on Election Day at their assigned polling place.
The deadline to request a mail ballot for the 2022 General Election is Saturday, Oct. 29 at 5 p.m. Voters who requested a mail ballot in the 2020 election cycle do not need to request one for the 2022 cycle, including for the Primary Election. However, the additional early voting locations won’t be open for the Primary.
In addition to the Governor’s race, the 2022 General Election will include a U.S. Senate race, numerous Congressional contests and state House and Senate races. The midterms are pivotal next year as the GOP looks to reclaim majorities in the U.S. House and Senate as well as maintain strong majorities in the state Legislature.
