Posted on 11/05/2002 7:33:33 AM PST by Dallas
MIAMI (AP) -
Florida voters hoping for a well-run election after the chaos of the past two found generally fast-moving lines Tuesday morning. But officials cautioned that a long ballot could still mean delays as the day wore on.
"It appears things are going smoothly. It really paid off doing our homework," Miami-Dade county manager Steve Shiver told reporters before polls opened.
Opening time was 7 a.m. Two Broward polls opened two minutes late, but embattled Elections Supervisor Miriam Oliphant said all were open by 7:03 a.m.
In the Broward suburb of Miramar, about 150 people were in line at opening time at a residential clubhouse hosting two precincts, but the line moved fairly quickly. In nearby Davie, six people were already in line 20 minutes early to vote on three touchscreen machines used for the first time in September.
"This is much better than last time in September," retired teacher Woodard Vaught, 69, said at a polling place in Miami. "Now you just have to be able to read."
Former Attorney General Janet Reno (news - web sites), who lost the Democratic primary for governor, waited with 40 others to vote in a Miami suburb and quickly moved through the line. In the primary, she was at first turned away because machines weren't ready.
"It was smooth," said Reno, who campaigned in recent weeks for Bill McBride in his bid to unseat Republican Gov. Jeb Bush. "They were prepared for me this time."
Floridians also were picking an attorney general and an agriculture commissioner. But what particularly raised the specter of delays were the votes on 10 amendments to the state Constitution. They included proposals to ban smoking in most workplaces, reform how the state governs its university system and — perhaps the most contentious — reduce the number of students in public classrooms.
"I thought I'd get in line early," Kathy Morris, an elementary school principal, said as she waited. "If everybody stands and reads the amendments, it'll take a long time."
Some voters brought in sample ballots, already filled out, to speed up the process.
There was confusion in one precinct in Davie where the polling place was switched and some voters said they weren't notified.
"I'm annoyed, but I'm here and I'm voting," paralegal Lori Nathan said after she finally found her polling place. "It's a good thing I didn't have my kids today or I'd be mad."
Secretary of State Jim Smith said Monday that he was confident the new voting equipment would work and "we're going to be able to say that we had a good election."
Two years ago, disputed recounts in Florida held up the presidential election of George W. Bush for five weeks. The state responded with a $32 million overhaul of Florida's election system that included the installation of touchscreen voting machines.
But in September, problems with the machines and the training of poll workers, particularly in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, delayed results from the Democratic gubernatorial primary contest for a week.
In the time since, election officials hastily worked to increase training and added hundreds of county workers to troubleshoot the machines. The two counties also set up places where people could vote early, and more than 100,000 in each county did just that by Monday.
___
Florida Governor Jeb Bush (white shirt) votes using a new system of touch screen terminals, in Coral Gables, November 5, 2002. Bush is running against Democratic challenger Bill McBride. Americans went to the polls today in various mid-term elections across the country. REUTERS/Gary Hershorn
I'd like to know who posted that nonsense here on FR, too.
Yeh, but Republicans can read. "It's not fair."
No one should have to read the amendments because they already received a smaple ballot and a sample ballot was in every Sunday newspaper as well. I'm sick and tired of people showing up on election day having no idea what they are looking at. I do not want my leaders decided by spur of the moment decisions or by those who have no interest in voting wothout being proded.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.