TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Absentee Ballots Go Out As Registration Deadline Nears

Tribune photo by SCOTT ISKOWITZ

The elections office said so long to three truckloads of absentee ballots today.

ADVERTISEMENT

By KEITH MORELLI | The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 3, 2008

Updated: 10/03/2008 02:21 pm

BRANDON - As the Nov. 4 general election draws to within a month, here's an important deadline to remember: Monday is the last day to register to vote in that election.

The Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections Office, 2514 N. Falkenburg Road, will be open to 7 tonight; from 7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and from 1 to 7 p.m. Sunday. On Monday, the office will take registrations from 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Today, the elections office said so long to three truckloads of absentee ballots that began a journey though the Postal Service to voters in Hillsborough and far-flung places around the world.

Supervisor of Elections Buddy Johnson watched as the last of the upright Postal Service bins was loaded into a rental truck.

Why today?

"It's the day we told them we would do this," Johnson said.

In all, about 72,000 ballots were shipped out — 62,000 to Hillsborough County addresses and people who want to cast their ballots at their leisure or who won't be in the area Nov. 4.

The ballots were jammed into three rented box trucks and a full-size van and by midmorning were headed to the bulk mail warehouse at Tampa International Airport.

With a crunch of voters expected to show up at the polls on Election Day, Johnson said the absentee ballots are an easy way to vote early and avoid long lines.

Absentee Voting By The Numbers

72,000: Absentee ballots mailed Friday by the Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections Office.

62,000: Ballots mailed to residences in the county.

53,000:Cost of the bulk mailing in dollars. (The elections office is required to have undelivered ballots returned.)

3,000:Ballots mailed overseas on Friday.

3:Rented box trucks needed to haul the ballots to the post office.

1,900:Ballots mailed overseas, mostly to service people, prior to Friday.

23:U.S. Postal Service stand-up bins containing ballots. Each stand-up holds 20 bins, which holds between 150 and 200 ballots.

Source: Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections Office

Reporter Keith Morelli can be reached at (813) 259-7760 or at kmorelli@tampatrib.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT