Polk County elections office ends custom of outreach at Pride event in downtown Lakeland

Registering to vote has probably never been the primary reason anyone attended Pride in the Park, but it was an option in recent years.

That ended with the June 14 event, held at Munn Park in downtown Lakeland.

A participant said that the Polk County Supervisor of Elections Office informed him less than 24 hours before the gathering began that it would not be staffing a voter-registration table, as expected.

David Jones said that he arranged months in advance to reserve a space for the elections office at the event. Pride in the Park is a celebration of LGBTQ residents and culture, though it is open to all and typically draws thousands.




https://www.theledger.com/story/news/local/2025/06/27/polk-elections-office-ends-voter-outreach-at-pride-event-in-lakeland/84350080007/