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Castor Asks Feds To Monitor Hillsborough Vote Count

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By CATHERINE DOLINSKI | The Tampa Tribune
and CHRISTIAN M. WADE | The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 6, 2008

Updated: 11/06/2008 03:57 pm

TALLAHASSEE - Rep. Kathy Castor today asked the U.S. Justice Department to intervene in the Hillsborough County election debacle, citing concerns about the slow counting of ballots from Tuesday's general election and reported irregularities in the voting process.

In a letter to Attorney General Michael Mukasey, Castor referred directly to Elections Supervisor Buddy Johnson and questioned his role in the process of counting votes.

Johnson, a Republican, is running neck-and-neck with his Democratic opponent, Phyllis Busansky, separated by a few thousand votes. About 80,000 votes are still uncounted.

Castor said Johnson has "not met his legal responsibilities."

"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," she wrote.

Castor asked the justice department to dispatch personnel to monitor the counting.

She mentioned how University of South Florida students were forced to wait several hours after the polls closed because not enough ballots were provided at a campus precinct.

She also referred to Johnson's decision to merge two precincts into one location that caused "delays and confusion" and the "possible disenfranchisement of voters in a largely African-American area."

Castor's request comes on the heels of a letter today from Democratic state Sens. Charlie Justice and Arthenia Joyner asking Gov. Charlie Crist to "take a direct role in resolving the issues regarding election results" in Hillsborough County.

Following a cascade of problems that have delayed election results from Hillsborough County, Justice and Joyner sent a letter today asking that Crist intervene to ensure that votes not be "left unaccounted for" on Elections Supervisor Buddy Johnson's watch.

The letter lists situations involving:

Conflicting reports from the supervisor and the vendor responsible for the voting equipment.

Insufficient voting machines at polling places.

Conflict of interest issues given that the supervisor is himself a candidate.

"We are sure you will agree the integrity of these elections is of the utmost importance. The time has come for outside assistance. We are confident that with your involvement we can finally bring a resolution to what is becoming more embarrassing by the hour," the letter concludes. Joyner represents Tampa in the state Senate; Justice represents St. Petersburg.

Though rarely exercised, the Constitution provides authority for the governor to remove an elections supervisor or any county officer "for malfeasance, misfeasance, neglect of duty, drunkenness, incompetence, permanent inability to perform official duties, or commission of a felony" and appoint a replacement.

Gov. Jeb Bush suspended Broward County elections supervisor Miriam Oliphant from office in 2003 for what he termed "proven, repeated and continuing failures." Hillsborough County's supervisor is a Bush appointee.

Sterling Ivey, spokesman for Crist, said Wednesday the governor has no interest in removing Johnson from office.

Ivey said he was not yet sure whether the letter had reached Crist. "From the governor's standpoint, state law requires each supervisor to report unofficial returns by noon this Saturday," Ivey said. "We know the secretary of state's office is working with Buddy Johnson and every supervisor in the state to ensure that every supervisor reports their returns as required by law."

Reporter Christian Wade can be reached at (813) 259-7679. Reporter Catherine Dolinski can be reached at (850) 222-8382.

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