Governor will not extend Orange County poll hours in the wake of ballot shortage

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Florida Gov. Rick Scott did not extend the hours of polling locations in 52 Orange County precincts affected by ballot shortages in the presidential primary election Tuesday.

Polls will close as scheduled at 7 p.m.,

Orange County elections supervisor Bill Cowles had asked Scott to allow precincts affected by the ballot shortage to stay open until 8 p.m.

In an emailed statement released by Cowles at 6:55 p.m. Tuesday, the Florida Secretary of State's Office explained why there would not be an extension for the affected Orange County precincts.

"The Secretary and (Cowles) have been in regular communication throughout the day," the statement said. "They have revisited the supervisor's request to extend hours and reviewed the corrective steps that have been taken, the timeframe in which the issues were resolved and the multiple options voters were given to case their vote today."

"After thorough consideration, at this time we are in agreement that voters in the six municipal elections have been accommodated and will have sufficient time to get to the polls without having to extend the polling hours," the statement concluded.

Nearly a dozen precincts had ballot shortages, including ones in Apopka, Ocoee, Maitland, Windermere and Belle Isle.

Early in the day, polling locations experienced ballot shortages due to a computer glitch when the orders for ballots were sent to the printers, Cowels said.

He did not say how many ballots were needed or how many were not printed.

The Errol Estate polling location in Apopka ran out of ballots at about 9:30 a.m., but was later restocked, Cowels said.

PDF: Statement on ballot shortage from Bill Cowles

The Word of Life Church, also in Apopka, ran out of ballots Tuesday morning and frustrated voters worried they would not have time to vote later if the problem wasn’t resolved quickly.

To allay voters’ concerns, Cowels said anyone who went to a precinct, but wasn’t able to vote because of the shortages will still have a chance to their ballot.

Voters should contact the Orange County Elections Supervisor’s Office and an absentee ballot will be brought to their home, work or any other location, Cowels said.

Voters at affected precincts were also allowed to use Express Vote machines on site that are usually reserved for disabled voters, Cowels said.

People affected by the shortage could also go to the Supervisor’s Office, at 119 West Kaley Avenue, to vote.

Bill Cowles, Orange County Supervisor of Elections, issued this statement on the request to extend voting hours in municipal elections:

“The Secretary and Supervisor have been in regular communication throughout the day.  They have revisited the Supervisor’s request to extend hours and reviewed the corrective steps that have been taken, the timeframe in which the issues were resolved and the multiple options voters were given to cast their vote today. After thorough consideration, at this time we are in agreement that voters in the six municipal elections have been accommodated and will have sufficient time to get to the polls without having to extend the polling hours. “

Cox Media Group