Deputies Assigned To Early-Voting Sites To Prevent Intimidation

PINELLAS COUNTY, FL — After two mysterious armed guards showed up at a Pinellas County early-voting site Wednesday, Pinellas County Sheriff's Bob Gualtieri decided to post sworn deputies at all early-voting sites in Pinellas County.

Two armed security guards set up a tent outside an early-voting site in St. Petersburg Wednesday. Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections Julie Marcus said she was told they had been hired by the Trump campaign. However, campaign officials denied hiring the security guards.

During a press conference Thursday, Gualtieri said the guards were legally licensed and employed by a security company in Crestview called Syotos.

“If they are hired to provide protection for somebody, that’s completely legal, it’s lawful, that’s not a problem,” Gualtieri said. “Their mere presence does not constitute voter coercion or intimidation.”

The security guards did not return the following day and, initially, Gualtieri had no plans to take further action. But on Thursday, he announced that he'll station a deputy at each early-voting site throughout the early-voting period, which ends Nov. 1.

“Deputies will be there as a resource and a calming presence so people know they do have unfettered, unrestricted, unintimidated access to those early voting sites,” he said. “I hope what it does is make people feel comfortable.”

The nation is closely watching the vote in Pinellas County where political analysts say the results could indicate who will be the next president of the United States.

According to St. Petersburg College professor and political analyst Lars Hafner, Pinellas County has chosen the winning president since 1980, with the exception of 2000 when George W. Bush defeated Al Gore in what's become the historic "hanging chad" recount in Florida.

According to The Cook Political Report, the country's 10 bellwether counties are:

1. Kent County, Michigan

2. Wood County, Ohio

3. Erie County, Pennsylvania

4. Sauk County, Wisconsin

5. Marshall County, Iowa

6. Maricopa County, Arizona

7. Pinellas County, Florida

8. Peach County, Georgia

9. New Hanover County, North Carolina

10. Collin County, Texas

Pinellas County is almost evenly divided between the two main political parties. There are 256,385 registered Democrats and 251,609 registered Republicans with 206,646 listing their political affiliation as "other."

Early voting in Pinellas County began Monday, Oct. 19 and runs through Nov. 1 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., including weekends. There are five early-voting locations in Pinellas County where any registered Pinellas County voter can cast a ballot. This is different from Election Day when voters must vote in the polling place assigned to their precinct.

Marcus said all five early-voting sites have been busy throughout the week, with long lines at peak hours at several locations.

As of Saturday, nearly 43 percent (305,466) of the county's registered 711,462 voters had either voted early or voted by mail. During the 2018 general election, only 54,988 cast early votes in Pinellas County. During the 2016 presidential election, 78,166 Pinellas County residents cast early votes.

"More than 400,000 Pinellas County voters requested mail ballots for the 2020 general dlection, the most in county history," Marcus said. “So that's an amazing, amazing community effort of wanting to vote at home."

On the first day of early voting, Marcus said Pinellas County set a new record for the number of early voters. More than 6,300 people voted Oct. 19.

Each early voting location also has a curbside, vote-by-mail drop-off tent for voters who want to turn in their vote-by-mail ballots in person. Mail ballots must be received by the supervisor of elections no later than 7 p.m. Nov. 3.

Early-voting sites are:

• Supervisor of Elections Office - County Courthouse - 315 Court St., Room 117, Clearwater (voter parking spots will be designated in courthouse parking lots)
• Supervisor of Elections Office - Election Service Center - 13001 Starkey Road, Starkey Lakes Corporate Center, Largo
• Supervisor of Elections Office - County Building - 501 1st Ave. N., St. Petersburg
• The Centre of Palm Harbor - 1500 16th St., Palm Harbor
• SPC Allstate Center - 3200 34th St. S, St. Petersburg

For those who plan to either vote early or vote on Election Day, be prepared for a slower process due to the need to limit the number of people in the polling place and clean and disinfect equipment and high-touch areas throughout the day.

Marcus said the county is taking precautions to protect both poll workers and voters from the coronavirus. Poll workers are required to wear masks at all times, and face shields or plexiglass barriers are being used as an additional barrier.

Marcus asks that all voters wear masks and will have them available for voters who come to the polls without one. Voters will get their own combination stylus/pen to sign in and mark their ballots.

Your rights

• It's illegal to intimidate voters and a federal crime to "intimidate, threaten or coerce any other person for the purpose of interfering with the right of that other person to vote or to vote as he may choose.
• Report intimidation to the Election Protection Hotline at 1-866-OUR-VOTE or 1-888-VE-Y-VOTA (en Español).
• Report intimidation to your local election officials. Their offices will be open on Election Day.

Solicitation Policies

No person, political committee or other group or organization (including members of the press) may solicit voters inside the polling place or within 150 feet of the entrance to any polling place, a polling room where the polling place is also a polling room, an early voting site or an office of the supervisor where vote-by-mail ballots are requested and printed on demand for the convenience of electors who appear in person to request them.

Before the opening of the polling place or early voting site, the clerk or supervisor will designate the no-solicitation zone and mark the boundaries.

Solicitation includes seeking or attempting to seek any vote, fact, opinion or contribution; distributing or attempting to distribute any political or campaign material, leaflet or handout; conducting a poll except as specified in this paragraph; seeking or attempting to seek a signature on any petition; and selling or attempting to sell any item. The terms "solicit" or "solicitation" may not be construed to prohibit exit polling.

The supervisor or the clerk may take any reasonable action necessary to ensure order at the polling places, including, but not limited to, having disruptive and unruly persons removed by law enforcement officers from the polling room or place or from the 150-foot zone surrounding the polling place.

Except the area 150 feet from the entrance, the supervisor may not designate a no-solicitation zone or otherwise restrict access to any person, political committee, candidate or other group or organization for the purposes of soliciting voters beyond the no solicitation zones. This applies to any public or private property used as a polling place or early voting site.

No photography is permitted in the polling room or early voting area, except an elector may photograph his or her own ballot.

Patch is partnering with ProPublica's Electionland project to report on problems voters encounter at the polls on Nov. 3 and we want to know if you see any shenanigans. Here's how you can report what you see to Electionland:

See related stories:

• Election 2020: Polls To Have Coronavirus Restrictions In Place
• Clearwater Election Guide
• 2020 Election Voter Guide: Pick Up Mail-In Ballots By Oct. 24
• Primary Results Yield Political Surprises
• 2020 Election Voter Guide: Pinellas Early Voting Begins Oct. 19