{"id":416827,"date":"2026-10-02T15:08:10","date_gmt":"2026-10-02T15:08:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/416827\/"},"modified":"2026-10-02T15:08:10","modified_gmt":"2026-10-02T15:08:10","slug":"good-enough-is-not-enough-for-the-voters-splc-joins-call-for-early-voting-site-in-south-st-petes-childs-park-neighborhood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/416827\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Good enough is not enough for the voters’: SPLC joins call for early voting site in South St. Pete\u2019s Childs Park neighborhood"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"AnChilds Park in St. Petersburg, Florida. Credit: cityofstpete \/ Flickr<\/a><\/p>\n

The Southern Poverty Law Center is joining nearly 50 churches and civil rights groups who signed a letter in March asking for early voting in the Childs Park neighborhood of South St. Petersburg.<\/p>\n

Matletha Bennette, a senior staff attorney with SPLC\u2019s democracy and voting rights team, said that an area containing a third of St. Pete\u2019s Black population currently has no early voting site.<\/p>\n

\u201cBased on our preliminary analysis, it does not seem as if voting sites are geographically located to provide that equal voting opportunity,\u201d Bennette told WMNF Tampa.<\/p>\n

SPLC sent a letter to Election Supervisor Julie Marcus last week warning her that not establishing an early voting site could violate state and federal laws requiring equal geographical access to early voting sites.<\/p>\n

A representative for Marcus\u2019 office said that there are other voting options available, like voting by mail or on Election Day at a closer polling place. He told the Tampa Bay Times<\/a> that adding one might require them to add more early voting sites elsewhere to comply with the equal access law.<\/p>\n

\u201cGood enough is not enough for the voters in South St. Petersburg,\u201d Bennette told WMNF. \u201cSouth St. Petersburg has a disproportionately high number of folks who don\u2019t have access to transportation and vehicles. And so that five miles that might be a 5\u201310 minute drive for someone with a vehicle is, you know, an hour on the bus and planning their day around a vote.<\/p>\n

She added that Gulfport was a sundown town \u201cwithin living memory,\u201d so some Black voters might not be comfortable going there to vote.<\/p>\n

Early voting runs Oct. 19-Nov. 1, and Pinellas County currently has seven early voting sites. The deadline to request a vote-by-mail ballot is no later than 5 p.m. on the 12th day before the election. The voter registration deadline for November\u2019s general election is this Monday, Oct. 5.<\/a><\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t the first time this problem has been raised. Churches called for an early voting site in South St. Pete ten years ago and offered up their own properties for the cause, but the election supervisor declined.<\/a><\/p>\n

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This article appears in Oct. 01 \u2013 07, 2026<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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