Three weeks ago, I wrongly reported in a memo to local community leaders that Black voter registration in Pinellas stood at an all-time low, and that changes in Florida laws had led to a sharp drop in the number of African Americans who are registered. I’ve since learned that this is false.
Though my numbers came directly from the Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections reports (the same reports I’ve relied on for many years), I’ve since learned that the Supervisor recently changed its reporting protocols in response to new Florida laws.
The Supervisor no longer reports ALL eligible voters (i.e., those registered and able to cast a vote on election date).
This first came to my attention when I received an email alert from Phillip Jerez, Executive Director of the Florida Democratic Party calling out what he characterized as deceptive and “misleading” reports on voter registrations.
Jerez wrote, “Over the past few years, Republicans have passed new elections laws, two specifically that changed ‘list maintenance’ processes. As a result, almost one million Democratic voters have been labeled “inactive voters” and wiped from the total reported to the public…”
This led me in search of a comprehensive count and list of all eligible voters in Pinellas, which I finally secured last Thursday (after multiple requests to the Supervisor’s office).
So here are the numbers for African Americans.
Pinellas County has 16,895 Black voters now classified as Inactive, and who are not included in public reports by the Supervisor, but who are still eligible to vote in the 2024 election!
This number, combined with the 46,827 who show up on the Supervisor’s public reports equates to about 63,722 Black voters who can cast a ballot on election day.
So instead of African Americans being at an all-time low registration rate and count, we may be at an all-time high number of eligible Black voters in Pinellas.
Here is a corrected version of the data graphic I released last month.
I’m writing a separate memo to community leaders and local officials on why the new Florida laws are damaging to voter education and get-out-the-vote efforts.
For now, though, here are a few things you should know about this so-called “Inactive” voter group.
Why some people are coded Inactive
A person is coded Inactive because either:
A. They did not respond within 30 days to a mailer from the Supervisor of Elections, requesting that they verify or update their address; OR
B. A mailer from the Supervisor to confirm their address was returned as undeliverable.
Please note – The reason they were sent the address confirmation mailer in the first place is an issue we should return to post-election.
Nevertheless, so-called Inactive voters CAN vote
Even if a registered voter is coded Inactive, they can still cast a ballot in the upcoming 2024 general election.
The Supervisor’s website notes, “Inactive voters remain in the voter file for two general elections [after being placed on the Inactive list] and are still eligible to vote.”
How to find out if someone is Inactive
It takes 30 seconds to check whether you or a family member is labeled as Inactive by the Supervisor.
Go to Check My Voter Registration Status (votepinellas.gov) and plug in your name and date of birth and hit submit.
If you are coded as Active, you’ll see a message like this:
If you are coded as Inactive, you’ll see a message like this:
What to do if you are Inactive
Though you can still vote, it’s best to take a minute to update your address with the Supervisor’s office.
The easiest and quickest way to do that is to email Election@VotePinellas.gov OR simply call 727-464- VOTE (8683) with the following information:
- – Your name
- – Date of birth
- – Driver’s License number/FL ID number
- – Last 4 digits of Social security number
- – Your correct and current address (specifying whether this is your residential address or mailing address or both).
That’s it.
Please note, even if you don’t update your address, you can still vote in the upcoming election!
