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Poll workers at many Tampa Bay area precincts could be rather bored today.
Other than sales tax votes in Pasco and Hernando counties and some municipal elections in Pinellas, the one question on the ballot today - the Democratic presidential preference primary - seems to have been all but decided elsewhere.
John Kerry's commanding delegate lead paired with the departure of his chief rivals has elections supervisors predicting that turnout among Democrats will be low.
The last presidential preference primary in 2000, where both parties could vote, drew 15 to 18 percent of registered voters in Tampa Bay area counties. Supervisors in Pinellas, Hillsborough and Citrus counties, while hopeful, weren't expecting much more than that today.
"Gosh, that would be good," Hillsborough Supervisor Buddy Johnson said of repeating the 16 percent turnout of 2000.
In Pasco and Hernando counties, however, turnout could be more than double that of their neighbors. Voters will decide the fate of sales tax increases to benefit schools and government construction projects. Supervisors are estimating voter turnout could be as high as 38 percent. All voters can vote on the sales tax issues.
With a penny-per-dollar sales tax increase on the ballot in Pasco, Elections Supervisor Kurt Browning predicts 35 to 38 percent turnout and has added polling place staffers compared to the last presidential primary.
"It's going to be a large number because of the Penny for Pasco," he said.
The last presidential primary in Hernando drew 14 percent, Hernando Supervisor of Elections Annie Williams said. This time, with two half-cent sales tax referendums on the ballot - one for the county government and one for the School Board - she's predicting 30 percent of voters will come to the polls.
Pinellas County is the only county holding municipal elections today. Elections Supervisor Deborah Clark said she hoped the contests in 14 municipalities - including two mayoral elections - would push voter turnout higher.
"I'm the eternal optimist," Clark said. "There are a lot of important municipal elections."
Citrus County Elections Supervisor Susan Gill said she's hoping for turnout above the nearly 15 percent of the 2000 presidential primary.
Gill, as well as other supervisors, says the unknown factor is early voting. Is the convenience of early voting increasing the total number of people casting ballots? Or are early voters people who normally have voted on Election Day in past years?
"We're just waiting to see what that represents in the total," Gill said.
Today's election is seen by some as another test of the electronic voting systems that some Florida counties purchased following the 2000 presidential election debacle. Voters in Pinellas, Hillsborough and Pasco counties will cast ballots on electronic machines, as they did during the 2002 general election.
Criticism of the electronic balloting systems has been growing as the presidential election gets closer. Critics cite the lack of a paper trail to aid in a recount as well as fears of elections companies or hackers changing the machines to favor one candidate over another.
Local elections officials all said their machines were ready and predicted the election would go smoothly.
- Times staff writer Will Van Sant contributed to this report.