Shortage of Republican ballots, delayed results among issues from elections office Tuesday
A shortage of Republican ballots at several locations around Alachua County on election night had some local GOP politicians claiming that voter suppression occurred.
It was one of several blunders that occurred during the primary election.
The Supervisor of Elections Office confirmed a shortage of ballots at a Newberry and High Springs precinct, both known for heavy Republican turnout. But it has not confirmed any reports of a “large number of voters” leaving without casting ballot, nor found the issue widespread outside the two locations.
Elections office spokesman Aaron Klein said Tuesday night that staff was alerted of the issue and sent more ballots to the locations.
But it didn’t appear to be enough, as some voters walked away without casting a ballot, according to some Republican politicians.
“I was informed that a clerk on duty waited until there were just two ballots left on the last pad before calling the supervisor’s office for more Republican ballots,” said local GOP chairman Ed Braddy.
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Soon after the ballot debacle became known, the supervisor’s website, VoteAlachua.com, temporarily crashed before being restored.
It didn’t seem to be much help, as vote counts were submitted slower than usual. By 10 p.m., only about half of Alachua County’s races were reported, while nearly every other surrounding county in the region had fully reported election results.
The issue continued until after midnight before results came in. Klein said the supervisor’s office was waiting for several precincts to drive in their results, due to internet connection issues. He said workers were “diligently getting the results in” as they were received.
“As it does after every election, the Alachua County Supervisor of Elections Office will be reviewing its Election Day procedures to find ways to improve operations and will reinforce existing procedures as needed to ensure that they are properly followed,” Supervisor Kim Barton said in a statement Wednesday
Of all the issues though, shortage of ballots appeared to be the worst offense, according to local officials on both side of the political aisle.
“The pattern of Democrats voting early and Republicans voting late is well established,” Braddy said. “It is unacceptable that the outlying precincts which, historically, have a strong election day turnout by Republicans voting after work would be shorted ballots.”
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School board member Mildred Russell, who lost her election, said she is sure she lost votes due to the issue.
“The data that’s coming in looks all skewed and all mauled,” she said after the loss. “So my thoughts right now are it’s a big mess.”
State Sen. Keith Perry, R-Gainesville, said it was “voter suppression,” saying some waited hours before being able to vote.
“Republican voters in both Newberry and High Springs have given up waiting and left without exercising their right to vote because Republican ballots were unavailable,” he said in a news release on election night. “It is unconscionable that elections officials have put the integrity of these races in jeopardy, forcing voters to make a choice between waiting to cast their ballots and getting home to their families. At stake are local races, including several competitive school board races.”
In Alachua County, Democrats far outnumber Republicans with 86,000 to 48,000 voters, but rural parts of the county lean Republican.
Perry said party members are working to alert voters of their options if given a plan from election officials.
“... What we know for an absolute fact is Republican votes have been suppressed while all other voters have had the unimpeded opportunity to exercise their right to vote,” he said.
Other ballot issues
Over the past few months, Barton’s office has faced increased pressure from voters and prosecutors regarding a number of ballot issues.
In July, the office sent out nearly 1,000 ballots without any Gainesville City Commission races to voters in Precinct 27, which covers the Duckpond neighborhood and is known for being one of the more active voting areas in the city.
Shortly afterward, another batch of 900 bad ballots were discovered to have gone to voters in Precinct 51 in northwest Gainesville. Each ballot mistakenly added the race for Florida’s House of Representatives District 22, which doesn’t cover that area. Area residents are eligible to vote in the House District 10 race, where Republican Chuck Brannan ran unopposed.
The supervisor’s office was investigated by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement after it was discovered that at least 10 inmates at the county jail voted illegally or submitted false voter information following the passing of Amendment 4 in 2019.
State Attorney Brian Kramer’s office has charged all 10, sentencing at least four so far. His office is now pursuing possible charges against more inmates who were convicted sex offenders.
The inmates registered to vote after a jail visit from an elections worker who hoped to increase voter turnout among those who were legally eligible. No elections workers within Barton’s office have been charged or accused by law enforcement of any illegal activity on their end.
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Alachua County Republicans call shortage of ballots ‘voter suppression’
