By Geveryl Robinson
On Saturday, January 31, 2026, at 11:00 AM, residents in Child’s Park and South St. Petersburg will gather for a No Site, No Silence town hall not out of convenience, but out of necessity. This is not a town hall born of routine civic engagement. This is a town hall born of exclusion, dismissal, and deception.
See, No Site. No Silence. …is not a slogan.
It is a refusal.
For years, South St. Petersburg residents, comprised overwhelmingly of Black, working-class, and senior voters, have been told to accept less: fewer resources, fewer services, fewer opportunities to participate fully in our democracy. Now, we are being told again that we do not merit an early voting site in our own community.
We reject that.
Why? Because the numbers don’t lie, but sometimes officials do.
Check this out.
According to 2024 general election data, Pinellas County has the largest racial turnout gap of any large Florida county. Black voter turnout lags behind White voter turnout by 20 percentage points—the widest disparity among peer counties.
That didn’t happen by accident.
When access is restricted, turnout drops. When communities are forced to travel farther, wait longer, and navigate fewer options, participation declines. This is not theory; it is lived reality.
And yet, instead of correcting this imbalance, the Pinellas Supervisor of Elections (SoE) office has chosen to maintain the status quo. They have failing sites and convenient amnesia. Here’s what I mean.
In a meeting with a representative from the SoE’s office (because Supervisor Marcus refused to meet with us), we (because I was there) were told that J.W. Cate Recreation Center was a “failing” early voting site.
Here’s the graphic:
Now, let’s talk about facts.
- J.W. Cate served over 18,000 voters and was deemed a failing site.
- Gulfport Neighborhood Center served just over almost 11,000 voters.
- Gulfport remains an early voting site and was not deemed failing.
So, which is it? Is turnout the metric, or is it something more nefarious?
If 18,000 voters constitute failure, yet 10,000 does not, and the SoE’s office was presented with alternatives in South St. Peterburg, what does that say about priorities?
But wait, there’s more.
While researching early voting access, we uncovered a public agreement finalized in June 2025, months after we were told all early voting sites had already been selected. Here’s how that went down:
- The Pinellas SoE office requested space from the Clearwater Recreation Center
- The SoE office is paying $400 to use the facility.
- The agreement lists Julie Marcus as Supervisor of Elections
- She didn’t sign the contract.
- Chief Deputy Supervisor Marc Gillette signs it
You can review the agreement yourself here.
This directly contradicts what residents were told because if sites were “already selected,” why was a new agreement approved months later?
*Insert side-eye here*
Did you think I was done? Nope, there’s still more.
Eight days before our meeting with Pinellas officials, an article was published on the BayNews 9 website quoting Dustin Chase of the SoE’s office stating they were having “a hard time finding early voting sites.”
That concern was never raised with us in our meeting.
Yup, you can read that one too right here.
So, which is true?
Are sites impossible to find, or are they just impossible to find in South St. Petersburg?
Let’s be clear: this is not about logistics. This is about whose participation is valued.
Here’s something I think the Supervisor of Elections, and most politicians honestly, fail to realize, is that elected officials and their appointees work for us. Our tax dollars pay their salaries. And yet, repeatedly, communities like South St. Petersburg are treated as an inconvenience rather than as constituents.
We are tired of being spoken about instead of listened to. Tired of decisions made behind closed doors. Tired of being told to accept crumbs and call it democracy. That’s why on Saturday, January 31st rom 11-1, we are having the No Site No Silence own hall.
This town hall is about accountability, access, and action. We want to hear from you and plan our next steps so that the community not only demands fair access but also receives it.
If they refuse to hear us in private meetings, then they will hear us publicly.
Because
Our votes matter.
Our voices matter.
And we will not be silent about what we deserve.
