Gay Valimont alleges voter suppression after precinct is relocated on day of Special Election

Some voters in Escambia County had their polling place shift on the day of a high-profile Special Election. Now, Florida Democrats are alleging potential voter suppression by Republican leaders there.

Democratic congressional candidate Gay Valimont and Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried planned to hold a 1 p.m. press conference to decry the potential confusion.

“Jimmy Patronis and his surrogates are attempting to block voters because he failed to show respect for the people of this district and neglected to earn their trust or ask for their vote,” Valimont said.

Voters who normally cast ballots at Macedonia Baptist Church in Pensacola, Precinct 98 in Escambia County, found no way to vote there Tuesday. Instead, those voters had to drive two miles to St. John’s Divine Missionary Baptist Church, which isn’t listed as a voting location at all on the Escambia County Supervisor of Elections website.

“Voter suppression undermines the very foundation of our democracy. Every eligible voter deserves equal access to the ballot box, and I am committed to fighting for that fundamental right,” Gay said. “The voters of Escambia County Precinct 98 deserve nothing less.”

Escambia County Supervisor of Elections Robert Bender said he has communicated with the Valimont location about the move in voting location for that precinct for weeks. He also said all voters in the precinct were notified of the change by mail with a specific notice and as part of sample ballots. For Republican voters eligible to vote in a January Primary, they were told of the precint move before that election, when the same alternative location was used. In addition to mail, he said a full page ad was published in the Pensacola News-Journal advising precinct locations and bolding this and four other precincts because the locations were different from in November.

Bender said the Macedonia Baptist Church let elections officials know after the November election that the location would no longer be available for use for voting. While a list of all precincts on the county website still lists the church as the Precinct voting location, a notice on the same website notes some locations may have changed. And Bender said if a voter put in their own address or personal information to find a proper voting location, the website would have identified the new address.

“That was within two weeks of general election,” he said. “We did try and find other locations in the precinct, but found one in an adjoining precinct.”

Escambia County leans heavily Republican. President Donald Trump won the countywide vote there in November with almost 59% of the vote to Democrat Kamala Harris’ under 40%. But Precinct 98 is the biggest Democratic precinct in the county. Harris won the precinct in November with more than 76% of the vote to Trump’s 22%.

Bender said about 1,900 Democrats are registered in the precinct, compared to 512 Republicans and 521 other voters.

The confusion came on Tuesday, the same day Valimont faces Republican Jimmy Patronis in a Special Election to replace former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz.

Patronis, Florida’s former Chief Financial Officer, is the heavy favorite to win the district, which covers four counties. But Valimont has drawn significant attention to the race after raising $6.5 million for the Special Election, compared to Patronis’ $2 million.

As of noon, nearly 4,900 Republicans in Escambia County had voted in the Special Election, compared to nearly 2,800 Democrats.