Temple Terrace Race Could Be Altered By Just-Found Ballots

In a bizarre post-script to the problem plagued Nov. 4 elections, Hillsborough County election officials said today they have discovered 440 uncounted ballots, more than two months after the official results were submitted to the state for certification.

Newly elected Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections Phyllis Busansky said the ballots, found Thursday by warehouse workers at the supervisor's Falkenburg Road offices, were from two Temple Terrace precincts that had voting machine problems.

"I was totally shocked," she said at a press conference this morning. "We couldn't believe it."

Busansky, who took over the office last week from outgoing supervisor Buddy Johnson, said the ballots were from precincts 626 and 651 in the Temple Terrace Presbyterian Church.

While the discovery is unlikely to change the outcome of state and county races, she said, it throws into question the results of the Temple Terrace City Council election, where four candidates competed for two open seats. The second and third highest vote-getters were separated by about 80 votes.

Still, because the election results have been certified, the votes will go uncounted.

"Unless one of the candidates decides to file a lawsuit," Busansky said.

David Penoyer, who lost by 84 votes to Mary Jane Neale, said today, "I haven't decided what to do. I was completely blindsided when I heard the news. It was really unexpected."

Neale said Busansky called her this morning "and told me I might be sued. I am very disturbed. If I were in David's position I'd handle it like Al Gore did - I'd move on."

Johnson did not return a phone call today seeking comment.

This is the second time since the election that uncounted ballots have been found.

About 850 previously uncounted absentee ballots were pulled from a vault at the Falkenburg offices on Nov. 12, four days after the county submitted unofficial results from the problem-plagued Nov. 4 general election to the state.

At the time, Kathy Harris, Johnson's chief of staff, insisted the ballots were not misplaced or forgotten, saying that they were always intended to be counted.

Johnson is also under scrutiny from county officials for cost overruns and other financial problems that plagued his tenure.