ST. PETERSBURG -- A group that used to register voters at concerts, before the pandemic shut them down, is trying to sign up voters at the local level instead, at an event Tuesday (22nd) in St. Petersburg, which happens to be National Voter Registration Day.
Joe Guido with the group HeadCount says they'll be set up outside the James B. Sanderlin Family Center, at 2235 22nd Avenue South, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., hoping to catch parents dropping off or picking up their children from daycare among others.
Guido explains how they're trying to make the effort pandemic-safe: "If people want to stay in their car, they can pull into the lot and a volunteer will be there. We'll have a volunteer with an electronic tablet to check their status or a paper form if they want to register." Electronic registration is also possible if their address information matches their driver license.
There will also be computers set up inside the Sanderlin Center so that people can check their registration status, and QR codes that can be used to go through the process on the phone.
Guido says that even though they expect people to mainly come from Pinellas County, they will have the ability to register people for most states, because of their background as a national organization.
Guido says HeadCount started by signing up voters at music events, using volunteers who get free tickets for their work. Since the pandemic, they've been partnering with artists' digital posts and conducting local events like the one in St. Petersburg.
Listen to an interview with Joe Guido:
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