At least seven counties are evaluating damage Charley did to power lines and polling sites that could force postponement of the Aug. 31 primary.
By LUCY MORGAN
Published August 17, 2004
TALLAHASSEE - State elections officials are waiting for more damage reports from counties hit hard by Hurricane Charley before deciding whether to postpone the Aug. 31 primary in some places.
Most of Florida's 67 counties are ready for the election and started early voting on schedule Monday, but Charlotte, DeSoto and Hardee counties remain without power and telephone service in many areas and have lost some buildings that serve as polling places. Access to outlying areas is limited.
In addition, Hardee County Elections Supervisor Dean Cullins, 60, died early Monday of a heart attack.
It's just the latest problem for elections supervisors who have been struggling to prepare for the first presidential election since the 2000 recount that made the state an international laughingstock.
In addition to three counties that were hardest hit by the storm, officials in Lee County say they have major power and communications problems and have still been unable to reach areas around Sanibel and Fort Myers Beach to see if polling places survived the storm.
And several other counties, including Highlands, Osceola and Volusia, reported problems with power and damaged precincts.
Despite the lack of power, DeSoto County was set to begin early voting today with the help of a backup generator, Secretary of State Glenda Hood announced late Monday.
Officials in all of the storm-wracked counties said their voting equipment appears to have survived the storm without damage, but several counties have been unable to complete poll worker training because of power outages that may last for another week or two.
If the remaining Florida counties go to the polls on schedule, statewide races would not be certified until all counties have voted.
Bush asked Hood to confer with local elections supervisors and determine whether a delay is necessary in some areas. At noon Monday, Hood had a conference call with officials from almost every county in the state. Polk County, which also sustained significant damage from the storm, did not report on the conference call.
A decision is not likely until each county has completed a check of polling places.
Orange County Elections Supervisor Bill Cowles said elections officials in undamaged counties have offered to help those who face storm-related problems.
The state faced a similar problem in 1992 when Hurricane Andrew hit Miami-Dade County a week before the primary election. That storm demolished 102 precincts and left more than 200,000 people homeless. The election went on as usual in other counties, but voters in Miami-Dade went to the polls a week later. Many of them cast ballots in emergency tents set up by the National Guard.
A constitutional amendment proposed by legislators in March 1992 was set to go before voters in November 1992 giving governors the authority to postpone elections when emergencies occur. Then Gov. Lawton Chiles initially refused to delay the Miami-Dade election but was forced to order the delay after the Florida Supreme Court sided with local officials who pressed for more time.
Voters then overwhelmingly approved the constitutional amendment two months later, giving future governors the undisputed authority to delay an election for up to 10 days.
