We are barrelling to the general election on November 3, 2026. Here is what you need to know for that. We are strictly nonpartisan and pro-planet. Interesting that NPA voter numbers decreased by 202 – did they join one of the parties?
Let’s start with stats. As of 9/10, there are 609,302 registered voters in Pinellas County (up by 2,190 people since August 13th). Interesting that NPA voters decreased by 202. Did those people register with a party?
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- Democrats: 191,565 (up from 190,554)
- Republicans: 242,409 (up from 241,224)
- No Party Affiliation: 151,973 (was 152,175 last month, so up and down from 152,278 )
- Other: 23,373 (up from 23,086)
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For registering, making sure your voting information is correct, and signing up to get a mail in ballot, visit the Pinellas Supervisor of Elections site. Assume each date’s deadline is 5pm, though it might be extened to 7pm. Check the website!
Finding about who won locally is often quick and easy. Florida’s statewide election results aren’t reported until polls in the western Panhandle close, since they are in the Central Time Zone.
Almost half of all Florida voters voted in the 2022 midterms, at 48.1%, which was slightly over the national rate of 46.2%. The highest primary turnout in the state in the 21st century was in 2018, when 54.3% of Florida voters went to the polls.
Important dates:
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- Voter registration deadline: October 5 – passed
- Mailing dates for ballots: September 18 for overseas/military voters & September 29 for domestic voters
- Request a mail ballot: October 22 – use the link or call 727-464-VOTE (8683) if you’re in Pinellas County
- Early voting: October 19 – November 1 (early voting sites are listed below, or through the link)
- November 3 voting: 7a.m. – 7p.m. If you are still in line at 7p.m., you have the right to vote.
Voter identification
This Supervisor of Elections website has a great voting myth vs fact page. There is some confusion about proper identification for voting. Your voter card is informative, but not an ID. You need a current, valid photo id with signature. These are some of the types acceptable:
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- Florida driver’s license
- Florida identification card issued by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles
- United States passport
- Debit or credit card (with photo and signature)
- Military identification
- Student identification
- Retirement center identification (with photo and signature)
- Neighborhood association identification (with photo and signature)
- Public assistance identification
- Veteran health identification card issued by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs
- License to carry a concealed weapon or firearm issued pursuant to s. 790.06
- Employee identification card issued by any branch, department, agency, or entity of the Federal Government, the state, a county, or a municipality.
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If you do not have an ID with photo and signature, you can vote on a provisional ballot. The ballot will count if your signature matches the one your Supervisor of Elections has on file.
Early voting
Early voting is October 19 – November 1. There are three of the Pinellas County early voting location are at the Supervisor of Elections offices:
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- 501 First Ave. N., St. Petersburg FL 33701
- 13001 Starkey Rd., Largo FL 33773
- 315 Court St., Clearwater FL 33756
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Other locations:
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- Centre of Palm Harbor: 1500 16th St., Palm Harbor, FL 34683
- Countryside Recreation Center: 2640 Sabal Springs Dr., Clearwater, FL 33761
- Gulfport Neighborhood Center: 1617 49th St. S., Gulfport, FL 33707
- J.W. Cate Recreation Center: 5801 22nd Ave. N, St., Petersburg, FL 33710
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Once the polls are open, you can find out what the wait times are at the early voting sites through this link. Early voting times are 7a.m. – 7p.m. for the general election (primary election has more limited hours).
Where to vote
Your voter card has your polling place. If it isn’t handy, you can use this link to look it up. If you have moved since you last registered to vote, the Supervisor of Elections would love for you to update your address with her office. That way everything goes smoothly when you vote. If you are voting in person on Election Day, you have to vote in your current precinct.
Looking for a place to drop off your ballot? This pdf 2026 General Election Mail Ballot Return Locations will help for Pinellas.
Voters’ guides
It feels impossible to know enough about every candidate. That is why voting party line is so easy – we assume commonality. Voters now are restless across the aisle, though, and many might be looking past incumbents. Some races are hard to predict – judges, for example – because there isn’t really an easily found track record.
Nonprofits cannot act in politically partisan ways, endorse candidates, nor endorse parties. They can create political action committees (PSACs) or 501(c)4s to support candidates. Noprofits can take public positions on ballot initatives.
As an environmental organization, we look at voter guides of planet aligned organizations. If there is a voter guide you really like, please share it with us (info@seausrise.org).
Here are a few:
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- Suncoast Sierra Club
- Vote Water
- League of Women Voters. (The League publishes answers to their candidate questionnaires, no endorsements.)
- League of Conservation Voters
- The Florida Phoenix
What races are on deck?
Midterms often have lower turnout than the presidential years, but are equally consequential. Every congressional representative seat, and one of our federal senate seats is up for election.
Floridians will be electing five statewide offices:
Locally, Pinellas County has County Commission, Judgeships, and School Board races. Voters will also vote whether or not to retain one of the Florida Supreme Court justices, and four appeals court justices, which is called merit retention. No Florida judge has ever lost their seat because of losing the retention vote. Maybe Fl Supreme Court Justice Carlos G. Muñiz will be the first one. You can read more about the judicial rentention races here.
Just in case you are a completist, here are all of the Florida races that will be on the ballot this November.
Proposed ballot constitutional amendments
It is notable that there are no citizen-iniative led proposed amendments on this year’s ballot. All 22 proposed amendments failed to be certified, hamstrung by laws passed in the last year limiting the ability for citizens to add amendments. That hadn’t happened since 2012.
There’s been a strong focus on Amendment 3, the property tax amendment. Recently a judge ordered Florida’s Attorney General to rewrite the ballot summary title and language since it was biased and kind of slogan-y. The amendment would raise the base property tax exemption amount significantly, reducing the amount of money that counties, cities, and other municipalities receive (outside of school systems), eventually eliminating property taxes. It also requires that local governments use tax money on ‘public safety, education and schools, infrastructure, and natural resources’. We urge Floridians to vote NO on this destructive, chaotic, and harmful amendment.
Another amendment on the ballot, Amendment 2, is the Exemption of Tangible Personal Property on Agricultural Land from Taxation. This amendment does not have any impact on state income but is estimated to cost rural counties almost $29-31M in lost revenue. It eliminates taxes on tangible personal agriculural property (think tractors, sprayers, rotary cutters, but also maybe furniture and other items) used in farming, ranching, or agritourism.
The third proposed amendment, Amendment 1, changes the Budget Stabilization Fund. It raises the cap of Florida’s rainy day savings (aka Budget Stabilization Fund) to 25% (from 10%) of genral revunue collections; requires the state to put aside $750M or the amount needed to reach that cap (the lesser of the two); and allows a supermajority vote of the legislature to overcome the requirements if there is a ‘critical state need.’
St. Petersburg ballot measures
Residents of St. Pete willl be deciding on five ballot measures.
- No. 1 Referendum Question: Stormwater, Wastewater and/or Potable Water Improvements General Obligation Bond Referendum Shall the City finance storm resilience improvements, including but not limited to, floodwater protection, stormwater pump stations, drainage infrastructure, as well as wastewater collection and treatment facilities, drinking water distribution and supply facilities, by issuing general obligation bonds in one or more series, not exceeding $600,000,000, bearing interest not exceeding maximum legal rates, maturing not more than 30 years from each issuance date, pledging the City’s full faith, credit, and unlimited ad valorem taxing power?
- No. 2 Referendum Question Authorizing Amendment of Harborage Marina Lease to Extend Term to 30 Years and Require Improvements May City Council approve amendment of the lease of City-owned submerged lands at Harborage Marina subject to conditions in ordinance 640-H? Such amendment would extend the term of the lease to 30 years and require the tenant to construct new improvements at no cost to the City, including 200 linear feet of docks, boat lifts, and expanded restrooms. Those improvements would be owned by the City at the end of the lease.
- No. 1 Charter Amendment Removing City-Owned Vacant Lots from Park and Waterfront Map to Create Housing The City Charter Park and Waterfront Map contains a composite parcel identified as “Jamestown” composed of: Unity Park, recreational open space within Jamestown apartments, and nine City-owned lots in the adjacent neighborhood that are vacant and closed to the public. Shall the City Charter be amended to remove those nine vacant lots from the Map to allow subsequent / separate land use changes and potential sale of those lots for affordable or workforce housing?
- No. 2 Charter Amendment Authorizing a 25-year Lease Limitation for the Port of St. Petersburg The City Charter currently limits leases at the Port of St. Petersburg to 10 years without approval by citywide referendum. Shall the Charter be amended to increase that limitation to 25 years? That amendment would make the Port consistent with adjacent Albert Whitted Airport and provide the City with additional flexibility to enter into agreements with private entities for redevelopment of Port facilities. That amendment would not change the permitted use of the Port.
- No. 3 Charter Amendment Technical, Clarifying, and Conforming Changes to Effectuate Holding Municipal Elections in Even-Numbered Years In 2022, voters in a citywide referendum approved amendment of the City Charter to reschedule elections for Mayor and Council Members to even-numbered years so that City elections would align with national and state elections beginning in 2024. Shall the Charter be amended to make technical, clarifying, and conforming changes necessary and appropriate to fully effectuate the intent of the 2022 referendum, including alignment of the Charter-review process with the current election schedule?
Here’s your voting plan
When you read about people creating a voting plan, that means they made sure:
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- they are registered to vote;
- they know the options about early voting, mail in voting, and Election Day voting;
- they have looked at a sample ballot (available through the Supervisor of Elections)
- they’ve researched candidates and proposed amendments.
Neighbors in the Know
Neighbors in the Know, one of our initiatives, is designed to keep neighborhoods and neighborhood associations informed with local election and environmental information. We also go to neighborhoods to find out what is concerning our neighbors about local environmental issues or proposals. You can get in touch with us by emailing info@seausrise.org if you want to find out more about Neighbors in the Know.
