Party Bus To Bring St. Pete Voters To The Poll For Early Voting

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — A group of Florida civic organizations will host “Party to the Polls” on Saturday afternoon "to encourage Black, brown and low-income” St. Petersburg residents to vote, Dylan Dames, the Pinellas County organizer for Faith in Florida, told Patch.

The nonprofit, multi-race solidarity network, which focuses on issues like systemic racism, housing accessibility, and criminal justice accountability, is working with Florida Rising and Florida for All to mobilize voters by bringing them from the Catalyst on the Deuces to the downtown Supervisor of Elections office by party bus to vote in person or drop off mail-in ballots.

“This allows us to engage voters and really meet them where they’re at,” Dames said.

Though the event kicks off at noon, the party bus rides to the polls — complete with an on-bus DJ — start at 1 p.m. and go until about 3:30 p.m.

From noon to 4 p.m., there will be free food and live music for the community at the Catalyst.

In the months leading up to Election Day, Faith in Florida volunteers have been working to connect residents in south St. Petersburg with the information they need to vote, everything from how to register to where to find their precinct location to information about races and referendums.

“We’re democratizing that information for the people that need it most,” Dames said. “I think, unfortunately, Black, brown and poor white folks are left out of democracy. We’re trying to bring everybody to the table. Everyone deserves a chance to influence policy directly by being involved in elections.”