By Michael Van Sickler, Times Staff Writer
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Something always goes wrong with elections, warned Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections Deborah Clark before the polls closed on Tuesday.
That proved true when, on an otherwise mostly flawless night, an elections advisor had to drive two flash drives with two precinct's election results to the elections office when they wouldn't transmit electronically. They were the last of 376 precincts to be counted.
At about 9 p.m., the advisor was sideswiped at County Road 1 in Curlew Road near Palm Harbor, Clark told reporters gathered at the Supervisor of Elections office.
The advisor wasn't hurt, and the flash drives were intact. Clark said Pinellas County Sheriff's deputies were driving out to retrieve the flash drives and bring them to the office. The flash drives contained the results for precincts 654 and 617. They had to be driven in because there were technical problems with the modem.
"It's always something," Clark said.