St. Petersburg College’s Center for Civic Learning & Community Engagement (CCLCE) and college partners have developed the annual SPC VOTES action plan to encourage nonpartisan civic engagement.

SPC VOTES seeks to use interdisciplinary and innovative ways to reach the SPC community.

Reach out to CCLCE and see how you can get involved!

SPC VOTES is an expression of the College’s institutional commitment to increasing access to civic health and community engagement.

The purpose of this action plan is to promote civic access and increase student voter participation rates on all campuses across Pinellas County.

Cultivating a campus and community culture invested in democratic and global citizenship is a priority for SPC. In that spirit, CCLCE is collaborating with college and community partners to increase voter engagement and voter turnout.

For a copy of the full SPC Votes action plan to encourage nonpartisan civic engagement, please email Dr. Tara Newsom at newsom.tara@spcollege.edu.

SPC’s Center for Civic Learning & Community Engagement wants to help you get involved with civic life. Check out these opportunities around Pinellas County!

College Scholarships

Statewide Supervisors of Elections Association Offering College Scholarships in 2026

The Florida Supervisors of Elections (FSE), an association composed of the state’s county elections leaders, will award $1,200 scholarships to three qualified students in 2026.

Applicants requirements:

• Registered Florida voter
• Has lived in the state for at least the preceding two years.
• Majoring in Political Science, Public Administration, Business Administration, or Journalism/Mass Communication
• At least a junior in college
• Enrolled or accepted as a full-time student in a senior college or university in Florida
• Has at least a “C” average or above for the previous year

The Scholarship Guidelines and Application (PDF) includes requirements such as letters of recommendation and financial information. Scholarship applications must be received by 5 p.m. on March 6, 2026, and should be submitted in the county in which the student is registered to vote.

Pinellas County students should email completed applications or take them to any of the three Supervisor of Elections offices:

• 315 Court St., Room 117, Clearwater
• 13001 Starkey Rd., Largo
• 501 1st Ave. N, St. Petersburg

Each county will select one finalist to send to the FSE Scholarship Committee for consideration. For additional information or to receive an application by mail, email Sasha Perez-Book at VoterEd@VotePinellas.gov or call 727-464-5700.

Become an Election Worker

The Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections Office is always looking for election workers to help conduct fair and accurate elections. Election workers serve as the foundation of our representative democracy.

If you are interested in making a difference in your community and country, please consider applying. Election work can take many forms:

• Poll Workers: Each poll worker is assigned to work at a specific polling location on Election Day. Poll workers must be available to set up their sites before the polls open and must remain at the polling place until after the polls close. Learn more about becoming a poll worker.
• Early Voting Workers: Before all state and federal elections, the Supervisor of Elections staffs three to seven early voting sites for voters who wish to cast their ballots before Election Day. Early Voting can begin from 10 to 15 days before the election and last from 8 to 14 days. Early voting hours range from 8 to 12 hours a day.
• Election Ambassador: Pinellas County’s Voter Outreach Manager conducts voter registration, voter education, and other outreach throughout the county all year long. This includes voter registration events at local markets, libraries, schools, churches, festivals, and more, as well as educational events—such as mock elections and presentations—in area schools. Talented individuals who want to help make these events fun and successful are welcome. Events are scheduled on weekdays, in the evenings, and on weekends, so the Elections Office can work with your schedule.
• Other Election Work: The Elections Office relies on temporary election workers to:
  • Help answer phones in a Call Center environment
  • Open mail ballots
  • Sort and count ballots for the post-election audit
  • Process petitions for future ballot contests and initiatives
  • Perform other clerical tasks in support of upcoming elections

Also available are positions for electronic testing of election equipment in a warehouse environment, lifting up to 45 lbs.

Educator leaders participating in the “Becoming Titans in Civics & History” professional development opportunity completed their two-week academy with a community engagement project at the Florida Dream Center.

St. Petersburg College has been a long-time partner with the Florida Dream Center, which serves those in need in the Lealman area. It has community-based projects that serve Pinellas County, including Adopt a Block, helping neighborhoods and individuals one block at a time, utilizing a mobile food pantry to fight food insecurity, supporting resident advocacy, and preparing for job readiness.

Participants were welcomed by former County Commissioner Charlie Justice, a longtime advocate and volunteer for the Florida Dream Center. The team then worked on various projects, including stocking the food pantry and preparing snack bags for school-age kids, and packing Father’s Day treats for community members who will be out for Saturday’s weekly Adopt a Block event.

Florida Dream Center is one of many community-based engagement projects that can be built into the classroom for high school students to learn how to activate their citizenship and become student leaders in the community while mastering Florida Civics and History course requirements.

The Center for Civic Learning & Community Engagement is developing community-engaged projects for each of SPC’s Career & Academic Communities. This will help high school students explore their career interests while seeing how they can also serve their community.

For more information, please contact Tara Newsom at newsom.tara@spcollege.edu.

St. Petersburg College is proud to be recognized as one of the Most Engaged Campuses for College Student Voting in 2024 by the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge!

The college is honored to receive this recognition and can’t wait to build upon this success to strengthen democracy in the United States.

The ALL IN Most Engaged Campuses for College Student Voting recognizes colleges and universities for outstanding efforts to increase nonpartisan student voter participation. SPC joins a group of 471 colleges and universities recognized by ALL IN for creating greater access to civic life.

SPC’s Center for Civic Learning and Community Engagement (CCLCE) is delighted to have earned this designation and welcomes creating innovative approaches to civic health and community advancement in the upcoming year.

For more information on how to get involved, please reach out to the CCLCE team at CCLCE@spcollege.edu or visit spcollege.edu/cclce.