By Andy Boyle, Jessica Vander Velde and Danny Valentine, Times Staff Writers
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
The bitter and expensive primary campaign for governor and U.S. Senate officially ended for several voters Tuesday morning with a shout at Westminster Presbyterian Church in St. Petersburg.
"The polls are now open," a poll worker yelled at 7 a.m.
A few voters streamed in, leaving behind damp weather and weeks of negative campaign ads.
"It was a case of holding my nose and voting," said Democrat Michael Toy, 64, who voted for Kendrick Meek for U.S. Senate.
He said he didn't like anyone running. He wouldn't say who else he voted for.
"I think the electorate is getting angry at career politicians and politics as usual," Toy said.
The dislike of negative campaign tactics had bipartisan support.
"I thought it was awful this year," said Republican Ellen Nist.
Toy agreed: "I think it was disgusting."
Several Hillsborough County voters agreed but said they thought it was simply politics as usual.
Republican voter Robby Chambers, 42, of Lutz, said he voted for the "lesser of two evils," Rick Scott, in his opinion.
No major problems were reported at polling places in the Tampa Bay area. Two were struck by lightning in Hillsborough County, but voting was not disrupted.
About 1.7 percent of Pinellas voters had cast ballots by 10 a.m., according to a sample of 16 polling places. By noon in Hillsborough, about 4 percent of voters had made their choices, according to a sample of 10 polling places.
About 14.7 percent of voters cast ballots in Pinellas County, including early votes. In the past 16 years, voting turnout in a primary has been about 20 percent.
The candidates were busy Tuesday sealing last-minute votes and casting their own ballots.
Bill McCollum voted in his hometown precinct in Longwood, saying "we've overcome" rival Rick Scott.
McCollum wouldn't predict victory, but said Scott's unprecedented TV advertising barrage failed. "He's thrown up $50 million. We've sustained that, and we've overcome that," he said.
While Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Kendrick Meek was scheduled to begin his morning at 4:30 a.m. at a Miami bus stop, rival Jeff Greene had no public events scheduled other than voting at a Palm Beach fire station.
Charlie Crist turned up at the St. Petersburg Coliseum in the drizzle today to cast his first ballot as an independent. With no party affiliation, he couldn't weigh in on any of Florida's marquee primary contests and was limited to judicial and school board races.
"Being an independent is very liberating and refreshing,'' the governor said. "I'm really looking forward to voting for some great judges today."
Voting was light in the early hours at several polling locations in the Tampa Bay area.
There were more people holding campaign signs than actual voters at the Coliseum at 535 Fourth Ave. N in downtown St. Petersburg.
In West Tampa, a few voters trickled in as Ruth Williams, 53, held a sign in support of Kevin White outside a polling place. She got there at 7 a.m. in the drizzle and sat under large green umbrella near the road.
"If you're a person who really wants to vote and it's in your heart to vote, then nothing's going to stop you," she said.
Stacey Fernandez, 43, of Lutz said she thought turnout was low because Tuesday was the first day of school. Fernandez, who has a high school student, said she didn't know the bus pickup time or route and had to drive her teenager to school.
"I think whoever was planning the election didn't take into account it's the first day of school," she said.
As of early Tuesday afternoon, there were no significant problems at any of the polling sites in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties.
At least two polling precincts were hit by lightning, but voting never stopped.
There was some minor confusion early at a Riverview polling place when a worker couldn't find the ballots, but it didn't keep anyone from casting votes. Power temporarily went out at a Temple Terrace location. Some poll workers also had computer problems while checking in voters.
"Any problem that we've had, we have fixed very quickly," said Travis Abercrombie, a spokesman for the Hillsborough County supervisor of elections.
Lightning struck a cypress tree outside River of Life Church, a polling site in Lutz, at about 9 a.m., said Amy Peterson, the office manager for the church.
"It hit a tree, went out the bottom and struck a truck," she said.
No one was in the truck at the time and no one was hurt, she said.
While the strike did not interrupt voting, it did cause some of the church's electricity to go out and disabled two phone lines, she said.
Lightning also hit the Epiphany of Our Lord Church, a polling site in Tampa, knocking out the power. The voting machines have backup batteries.
At times, a driving rain poured down, but voters still tricked into their polling sites, carrying umbrellas and wearing raincoats. Ann Dolgin, of Davis Islands, said a little rain won't stop her from exercising her constitutional right to vote.
"This is Florida," she said. "The only thing that would keep us away is a hurricane."
Some Hillsborough County voters had trouble finding their polling places, Abercrombie said. The county has 44 new precinct locations.
Hillsborough voters who want help finding their precinct location can go online to votehillsborough.org and click on the precinct-finder tool.
In Pinellas, find precincts at votepinellas.com.
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