A local pastor and other faith leaders on Friday will formally call on Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters to meet with them over their concerns about violence and officer conduct.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Several “Souls to the Polls” events were held Sunday in Northeast Florida ahead of Election Day. The statewide effort is targeting over 250,000 Black voters across 25 counties, including Duval, leading up to Election Day. Faith in Florida said that at the events, participants will be able to talk about their plans on voting, how and where to vote, and voter suppression. In Jacksonville, a “Souls to the Polls” event took place from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday in Rutgers Plaza on Dunn Avenue. Another “Souls to the Polls” event was held from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday at the Solomon Calhoun Community Center on Duval Street in St. Johns County.

Elections officials are setting up sites to prepare for the expected crowds Monday when early voting starts in Jacksonville and across most of Florida. It is expected that a new early voting site at the Prime Osborn Convention Center will be one of the most popular of the 20 sites in Duval County, but is causing a stir with a neighboring Northwest Jacksonville neighborhood. People like Schree Gray, who lives near EWC, said moving that site is a problem for voters in that area. It needs to be closer so we could vote, because some of us don’t have cars,” Gray said. Pastor Reginald Gundy has been voicing concern about removal of the site.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - A local pastor is suing the city, saying his rights were violated when he was stopped from praying during a Jacksonville City Council meeting. He said that, when he was invited to do the invocation during the March 12 meeting, he was cut off by Council President Aaron Bowman during his prayer. Gundy talked about people being stewards of the earth, local pollution, slavery, neglect since consolidation and violence, among other topics. "People are being intimidated, threatened and bullied by the executive branch of our city government while cronyism and nepotism is being exercised," Gundy said in his prayer. A council member attempted to stop him from talking, asking him to make it a spiritual prayer.