St. Petersburg mayoral candidate Charlie Crist will cast his ballot in this year’s Primary on the first day of early voting.

The former Governor is planning an early vote event on Saturday at 11:30 a.m., with Crist and supporters walking from The Galley on 4th Street in downtown St. Pete to the downtown Supervisor of Elections office.

An email and flyer sent to supporters advertises a three-minute walk with Crist to “cast your ballot with him!”

Early voting for the Primary begins Aug. 8 and runs through Aug. 16.

The Crist campaign said it would have golf carts on hand to transport any supporters unable to make the walk from The Galley to the Supervisor of Elections office.

During early voting, registered voters in Pinellas County can cast a ballot at any one of three early voting sites, all Supervisor of Elections offices. The downtown St. Pete location is at 501 First Ave. North. Early voting is also open at the Election Service Center, located at 13001 Starkey Rd. in Largo and at the Pinellas County Courthouse, located at 315 Court Street, Clearwater, in Room 117. At the courthouse, voter parking spaces will be designated in the courthouse parking lots.

Early voting hours are from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m., Monday through Friday, and from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.

The deadline to request a mail ballot has already passed, but those who received mail ballots may still return them through the mail or by dropping them off at one of several secure ballot drop locations across the county, or at any of the three early voting sites. Dates and times vary by location. A complete list of drop-off locations is available on the Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections website.

Crist is one of six candidates running for Mayor, and he’s the front-runner both in polling and fundraising. Crist leads incumbent Mayor Ken Welch by 15 percentage points, according to the most recent poll of the race, and leads the third-place candidate, City Council Member Brandi Gabbard, by 19 percentage points. Among voters who have already cast a ballot, 51% said they voted for Crist, according to that poll.

Crist raised $40,000 to the political committee supporting his bid for Mayor, St. Pete Shines. Committees for Welch and Gabbard didn’t raise a dime.

Crist grew his already sizable fundraising lead another nearly $47,000, bringing his combined fundraising total to more than $1.8 million. Welch has raised a combined total of $433,000, while Gabbard has raised just over $71,000 between both of her accounts.

Crist retains more than $920,000 between his political committee and campaign accounts. His on-hand cash total is more than double what Welch has raised throughout the entire campaign and is more than six times what Welch maintains on-hand, at about $148,000.

“I am honored and humbled by the outpouring of support for our people-powered campaign to restore progress at City Hall and throughout our home, St. Petersburg,” Crist said.

“Voters are ready for leadership that shows up and delivers results. Whether it’s leading and protecting our city through hurricanes or lowering property taxes so you can keep more of your hard-earned money, I’ll get the job done. I know I can, because I’m the only candidate in this race who has done it before. I look forward to earning your vote on or before Aug. 18. Together, we can hit the play button on St. Petersburg again.”

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Ed. note: Michelle Todd Schorsch is the Chair of St. Pete Shines, a political committee backing Crist for St. Petersburg Mayor. Todd Schorsch is married to Peter Schorsch, the publisher of Florida Politics.