They say they are having voting problems today in Florida! Really? What a shocker. Hey, it"s Florida, what do you expect? Some clouds just hang around the same place for eternity so it seems. The Florida primary couldn"t happen without problems, but at least we"re not dealing with hanging chads- are are we?
Voters are reporting problems across Central Florida from Daytona Beach to Hunter"s Creek. Among the precincts experiencing glitches was one in Orange County where voters were told by poll workers early on there was no Democratic primary today. And they believed them?
Phil Marjason said poll workers at precinct 145 in Hunter"s Creek would not give him a Democratic ballot. "I thought it was plain wrong," he said. "We need to get Florida straightened out." Really! Orange County Election Supervisor Bill Cowles confirmed that the clerk at the precinct made a mistake. "I have learned that we did have a situation right at 7 a.m. this morning," Cowles wrote via e-mail to the Sentinel. "The clerk admits she made a mistake."
Why Florida?
In another complaint, Sheneka McDonald spent 10 minutes trying to convince poll workers at the same precinct that she should have a Democratic ballot. She questioned poll workers when she was handed a Republican ballot but was told, "this is the only ballot we have." "I said, "How can this be the only ballot,"" McDonald recalled. "That"s when the guy chimed in from the back and said the Democratic primary was in March."
Who are these poll workers anyway?
The poll captain eventually apologized to McDonald and told her they had forgotten to unpack all the ballots. "It was a little unnerving this morning," she said. "I don"t see how you forget to unpack ballots. This is what gives Florida its reputation." And many other voting problems as well. Someone get Kathleen Harris back!
Want more?
Sharon McDonald said she was given an independent ballot at the Astatula Community Center in Lake County, even though she told the poll workers she was a registered Democrat. She said she was told that the Democratic primary votes didn"t count, so she did not question the ballot. "Shame on me," said McDonald, a homemaker. That"s exactly what Bill Clinton had said in South Carolina- "Shame on you".
Can you imagine what a mess it would be if Bloomberg or Paul decide to run on a third party ticket? Think FLordia could handle that?
Julie Shepherd, another Orange County voter, ran into a problem at precinct 138 at the Metrowest Golf Club and spent 35 minutes trying to convince poll workers that she"s a registered Democrat. Shepherd, who moved from Pasco County two years ago, said she"s a life-long Democrat and blamed the elections supervisor"s office for the mistake. "It"s not my error," she said. "Whoever entered my information must have gotten it wrong."
Cowles said that has been the most common complaint from voters during early voting in the primary. But in most cases, the voter is not registered as a Democrat or Republican, he said. Seminole Election Supervisor Michael Ertel agreed. "About 95 percent of the calls we"re getting involve people who want to vote in the primary," he said. At least a dozen voters in Orange, Lake, Seminole and Osceola counties claimed they had problems receiving the correct ballots.
Maybe if Florida would join in the Super Tuesday race next time, there"d be too many other things going on and the focus would be off Florida"s election troubles.
Marta Daly of west Orange County had a mix up, too, but it turns out she was mistaken with her party affiliation. She thought she was a Republican, but had registered as an independent in 2000. She was given a nonpartisan ballot, but promises to change her affiliation to Republican before the next election. That"s too late to help Mitt Romney.
You have to love the Florida weather though!