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Politics

37 votes short of runoff, city hopeful wants inquiry

He questions a late change of a polling place.

By JUSTIN GEORGE
Published March 13, 2007

TAMPA - City Councilman Frank Reddick plans to ask the U.S. Department of Justice to look at irregularities in Tampa's recent election, which he says may have cost him a shot at a seat.

He speculates that more people would have voted for him, propelling him to a runoff against winner Thomas Scott, if they had been told that a polling place was relocated.

Reddick finished second in the District 5 race to former County Commissioner Scott, who won 51 percent of votes. Lynette "Tracee" Judge finished third. Reddick needed just 37 votes to force a runoff. He alleges that he might have gotten them had voters in Precinct 215 received letters telling them their polling place had moved to Smyrna Baptist Church at 815 W Orient St.

Instead, voters found out about the switch on election day when a sign or poll worker redirected them to the new site. Reddick wonders if some voters never got the news.

Only 10 voters or nearly 6 percent of the precinct made it to the polls, fewer than half the number who voted in the 2003 mayoral election.

State law required the Hillsborough County elections office to send voters written notice of the change, Reddick said.

But the law only applies when polling site changes are made 14 or more days before an election, elections office spokesman Mike Foerster said.

The switch was made Feb. 8 and early voting began 11 days later, Foerster said.

Reddick also alleged that the Justice Department didn't sign off on the polling site switch, as the Voting Rights Act of 1965 requires.

"As a candidate who came so close to a runoff," Reddick said, "it's in my best interest to get a clarification from the Justice Department."

Foerster said last-minute authorization was sought and is pending.

"This is not unusual," Foerster said, counting off 68 times Hillsborough received permission after an election since 1992.

Reddick's third complaint relates to the malfunctioning of four voting machines.

He said he just wants to make sure all votes cast were counted.

All four were taken out of service, Foerster said.

Two lost power, one machine screen went blank and one machine spit out an error message.

The machines all had safety mechanisms to catch the votes, Foerster said, and all votes cast on the machines were counted.

Justin George can be reached at 813 226-3368 or jgeorge@sptimes.com.

[Last modified March 13, 2007, 06:31:12]