Human Error Suspected In Election Results Delay (FL)
Tampa Bay Online. November 7, 2008. By CATHERINE DOLINSKI and CHRISTIAN WADE

Fireworks over Hillsborough County's election debacle intensified on Thursday, as more indications of possible human error surfaced and Democratic officials called for state and federal intervention.

The long-awaited results of the county's election followed a cascade of technological breakdowns that pitted Supervisor of Elections Buddy Johnson in a finger-pointing contest against Premier Election Solutions, the Texas-based company he hand-picked to provide voting machines.

The county's election system came to a crashing halt on Election Night after officials uploaded tens of thousands of ballots from early voting stations while also uploading ballots cast on Tuesday. Johnson lashed out at the voting equipment company, saying that it had been less-than-honest and unhelpful.

But Thursday, a memo obtained from Secretary of State Kurt Browning's office revealed that Premier had warned Johnson's office months before the election about the potential for system overloads and breakdowns due to "the high volume of voter turn out in the November election."

A Premier account manager sent the memo on Sept. 8 to Hillsborough Deputy Elections Chief David Parks and elections staff in other counties using the company's system, instructing them to use "multiple memory cards" and take other precautions to ensure smooth processing of early and absentee ballots.

The 60,000 votes that Hillsborough election workers were still tallying on Thursday were early votes. Neither Parks nor Johnson were available Thursday to comment on the memo.

"It was human error," said Victor Rudy DiMaio, a member of the Hillsborough County Democratic Executive Committee, who was observing the vote tally Thursday night. "This was the perfect storm of poor management and avoidable equipment failure."

Still, after announcing that early votes had all been counted by 7 p.m. Thursday, county canvassing board members expressed confidence that the final count was accurate.

"I'm satisfied that the count tonight reflects the votes that were cast," said Judge James Dominguez, a board member. "I have absolutely no question about that."

Meanwhile, Democratic state Sens. Charlie Justice and Arthenia Joyner called on Gov. Charlie Crist to take a role in resolving the county's election problems.

"Whoever is culpable, that will come out," Joyner said at a hastily called news conference at the County Center in downtown Tampa. "That is the question we need to know: Why has it taken all this time?"

Both senators said they were not calling for the governor to remove Johnson from his post - a seldom-used authority that the Constitution provides the governor. The lawmakers said they are seeking assistance and an investigation by the state.

Justice, of St. Petersburg, said he hoped that Crist would dispatch Browning, a respected former elections supervisor of Pasco County, to Hillsborough to lend a hand. But Crist and Secretary of State said through spokespeople that it was premature for them to interfere.

Legally, both offices noted, all counties have until Saturday at noon to turn in their first set of unofficial results. Hillsborough's elections office has not missed any state deadlines.

That didn't deter U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor from writing Thursday to U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey, urging him to dispatch federal agents to oversee the remaining vote count and determine what had happened.

"The problems I witnessed firsthand and supervisor's inability to count the votes in a timely manner have shaken the public's confidence in fair elections," the congresswoman wrote, urging Mukasey to send help.

Ellen Gedalius, a Castor spokeswoman, said that even if the count were completed on Thursday, the congresswoman would still want the Justice Department to investigate what happened.

Hillsborough is one of several Florida counties that must obtain Justice Department approval before implementing new voting procedures because voters were disenfranchised in elections long ago. The requirement stems from the Voting Rights Act passed in 1965 to protect the voting rights of minorities.

In her letter, Castor referred to Johnson's decision to merge two precincts into one that caused "delays and confusion" and the "possible disenfranchisement of voters in a largely African-American area." She also noted the hours that University of South Florida students had to wait at a campus precinct before voting.

A Justice Department spokesman said the office was reviewing the situation in Hillsborough, but would not comment further.

Asked about the lawmakers' various calls for intervention, County Commissioner Kevin White said he saw no need for it.

White, a member of the county canvassing board, which certifies local elections, said he was not aware of any impropriety in the election; that, he said, would be the only cause for federal involvement.

County Commissioner Rose Ferlita, also a member of the canvassing board said she would welcome the federal investigation.

Elections officials will tabulate about 3,700 provisional ballots Friday - the last votes left to be counted - but members of the county's canvassing board said they don't expect the count to alter the outcome.

"Any changes will be insignificant," Dominguez said.

Reporters Keith Morelli and John Allman contributed to this report. Catherine Dolinski can be reached at (850) 222-8382.