What's Closed in Tallahassee and Leon County on Election Day — and What's Running: Fare-Free StarMetro, Unchanged Trash, Open Parks
County and city offices, libraries and community centers close Tuesday, Nov. 3 — but the polling places inside them stay open, the buses run free, the trash trucks run on schedule and the parks never close.
Leon County will observe Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 3, with a slate of closures that pointedly do not affect voting: early voting sites and Election Day polling places inside county libraries and community centers will be open during voting hours, and polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Closed on both Nov. 3 and Veterans Day, Wednesday, Nov. 11, are Leon County offices, libraries, community centers, Animal Control, and the Solid Waste Management Facility, Household Hazardous Waste Center and Rural Waste Service Centers. County parks, greenways, campgrounds and boat landings remain open on both holidays.
The schedules around the closures matter this week. All library branches resume normal hours on Wednesday, Nov. 4. Residential waste collection does not change for Election Day; for Veterans Day it slides one day for the rest of that week — Wednesday to Thursday, Thursday to Friday, Friday to Saturday. For animal-related emergencies on a holiday, residents can call the Consolidated Dispatch Agency at 850-606-5800, a line meant for dangerous or aggressive dogs, sick or injured domestic animals and animal cruelty; injured wildlife calls are forwarded to the St. Francis Wildlife Association.
Inside the city limits, Tallahassee's administrative offices close on Nov. 3, but city services mostly keep moving. There is no change to regularly scheduled garbage and recycling collection for residential or commercial customers during the holiday week — a blue week for city customers — who are asked to set bins behind the curb the night before their service day. StarMetro will operate a regular schedule with night service on Election Day, and the city will offer fare-free rides on StarMetro's regular fixed-route service and on Dial-A-Ride on Tuesday — a free ride to the polls for anyone who needs one.
The city's Animal Service Center will be closed on Tuesday and resumes normal hours Wednesday, Nov. 4, with appointments available beginning at 10 a.m. and kennels open for walk-ins from 1 to 5 p.m.; city Animal Control will be available for emergency situations only on Nov. 3, through the Consolidated Dispatch Agency. City-run community centers will be closed on Tuesday and operate normal hours the rest of the week. Voters can find polling-place information at LeonVotes.gov.
