As of Monday, St. Petersburg voters have cast more than 29,000 ballots to select the next mayor and four open City Council seats.
Of the 62,466 mail-in ballot requests, the Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections office reports that 29,080 returned through Nov. 4. That makes it 46.6 percent of the vote-by-mail requests to date.
Compared to over 55,000 votes cast in the last mayoral election in 2009, mail-in ballots could conceivably make the difference for either Mayor Bill Foster or challenger Rick Kriseman in the tight contest decided tomorrow.
In the most recent StPetePolls survey, former state representative Kriseman holds on to the slight advantage he has had since the primary, holding steady at more than six points over incumbent Foster.
In addition to the St. Petersburg municipals, there were over 28,000 ballots sent out for the referendum on a new Clearwater Marine Aquarium. More than 12,600 votes are already cast to decide on changing the City Charter so officials can enter a 60-year contract to build, operate and maintain a new home for Winter the Dolphin.
If voters approve the referendum, CMA would pay the city $7.5 million to tear down the three-story City Hall property on S Osceola Ave., between Pierce Boulevard and Cleveland Street to make way for the $160.5 million aquarium complex.
CMA would raise money for the city hall destruction with a 50-cent surcharge on ticket sales.ย
