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Voters Cast Ballots As Early Voting Breaks Records

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By NEIL JOHNSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 2, 2008

TAMPA - Voters swarmed the locations Sunday that were still offering a chance to cast a ballot before Election Day.

The wait at the elections office on Falkenburg Road was about an hour Sunday afternoon.
Elizabeth Davenport of Brandon was like many waiting there. She came prepared for the hourlong wait, equipped with crossword puzzles and an umbrella to weather the on-and-off afternoon showers.

"I'm voting because I may not be able to on Tuesday," said Davenport, who doesn't get off from her job at the city's wastewater department until about 5 p.m.

"By the time I pick him up and get over there, it may be too late," she said, referring to her son, Clayton, 9, who was busy playing a hand-held video game.

Some found the wait shorter than expected.

E.A. Stone, 70, of Brandon used a walker to steady himself as he waited in line. He showed up to the elections office Sunday to avoid possibly longer lines Tuesday at the polls.

"I can't stand that long," he said. "It's a lot faster here than I thought it would be."

This was the first election for Jean Desir, 31, of Riverview as a newly naturalized citizen.
An electronics technician, Desir moved from in Haiti, and said he was voting because he was worried about technical jobs like his being moved overseas.

"Election Day I have to work. That's why I'm here today," he said, smiling and holding a folded umbrella. "So far, it's moving pretty efficiently."

In Pinellas County, a line snaked around the elections office in Largo, one of three locations where people can vote this afternoon.

The wait was measured in hours but that didn't bother many in line. "I'm very glad to see the crowd," said Edward Felton, last in line at that moment.

Leon Waller brought is family to wait with him.

"It's definitely worth it. It's important to vote, important to try to make a difference and try to make a change. If you don't vote, you can't complain," he said.

Early voting is over in some counties, but Hillsborough, Pinellas and Sarasota counties still offered opportunities to cast ballots Sunday.

You will need to provide your name, address, date of birth and a signature to get one of the absentee ballots.

You may also go to either elections office from 7:30 a.m. until 6 p.m. on Monday or Tuesday to get the absentee ballot. No absentee ballots will be accepted after 7 p.m. Tuesday night.

The ballots are available at either the downtown elections office at 601 E. Kennedy Blvd. or the elections office at 2514 N. Falkenburg Road.

Early voting ended in Pasco, Polk, Hernando and Manatee counties on Saturday.

The early voting in Hillsborough County for this election easily eclipsed early voting for the 2004 general election and set a record for early voting in Hillsborough.

As of Saturday, 146,333 residents in Hillsborough cast their ballots early. That is just over 20 percent of the county's 707,000 registered voters.

In 2004, 86,617 people voted before Election Day.

Of the 13 early voting locations, the Jimmie B. Keel Regional Library drew the most with 15,715 voters using the location in the 11 days of early voting.

In addition to early voting, the elections office had processed 16,000 absentee ballots as of Thursday.

Reporter Richard Shopes contributed to this report. Neil Johnson can be reached at (813) 259-7731.

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