#WalktheVote Parades Planned Throughout Florida Saturday

FLORIDA — To encourage early, in-person voting, voters of all ages, backgrounds and party affiliations are invited to join a voting parade at various cities throughout Florida on Saturday. Part of a national, nonpartisan initiative, these #walkthevote events allow participants to skip long lines on Election Day and deliver their ballots to the ballot box in style.

Those participating will meet at the designated meeting spot in their city at 9 a.m. on Saturday and walk as a group to a nearby ballot box. Each walk ranges from ½- to 1-mile long, said Julie Robinson, a spokesperson for the initiative.

Voters will meet at the following Florida locations and times:

• Clermont: 2525 Oakley Seaver Drive (3 p.m.)
• Fort Myers: 2980 Edison Ave. (9 a.m.)
• Fort Lauderdale: 600 NW 19th Ave. (9 a.m.)
• Fort Pierce: 2215 Avenue Q (10 a.m.)
• Gainesville: 111 E. University Ave. (9 a.m.)
• Jacksonville: 5130 Soutel Drive (10 a.m.)
• Kissimmee: 2380 Smith Street (9 a.m.)
• Melbourne: 3316 Monroe Street (10 a.m.)
• Miami: 5120 NW 24th Ave. (9 a.m.)
• New Smyrna Beach: 800 Mary Ave. (9 a.m.
• Ocala: 829 NE Sanchez Ave. (2 p.m.)
• Okeechobee: 807 NE 13th Ave. (2 p.m.)
• Orlando: 400 W. Church Street (10 a.m.)
• Panama City: 722 E. 9th Court (12 p.m.)
• Pensacola: 500 Bayfront Pkwy. (9 a.m.)
• Port Saint Lucie: 2195 SE Airoso Blvd. (10 a.m.)
• Quincy: 8 South Adams Street (12 p.m.)
• Riviera Beach: 2409 Avenue H West (9 a.m.)
• St. Augustine: 281 W King Street (10 a.m.)
• St. Petersburg: 601 14th St. S. (10 a.m.)
• Stuart: 720 SE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd (9 a.m.)
• Tallahassee: 615 Tuskegee Street (10 a.m.)
• Tampa: 2607 E. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. (9 a.m.)
• Vero Beach: 4875 43rd Ave. (8 a.m.)

Those participating will assemble at their set time, wearing masks and social distancing. Then, they’ll travel together to drop off their mail-in ballot.

“Basically, this is a movement of activists and organizers in each community to rally residents to come together this year and to encourage local people to vote across the United States,” Robinson said. “With the pandemic and everything going on in the country, voting has been a really hot topic of discussion. The goal is the same in each city doing this. We just want to get people to vote.”

The voting parade is intended to draw the attention of those they pass as they march to the ballot box, she added. “It’s about creating awareness. That’s really the goal.”

Find more information or to register in advance for a #walkthevote parade in your city online here.