Tampa Bay races and issues
December 4, 2004
Another election mistake surfaces
By MICHAEL SANDLER and DAVID KARP
Pinellas' elections supervisor reported that a county charter amendment passed; in fact, it was defeated.
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December 3, 2004
Pinellas voting gaffe uncovered
By JONI JAMES
The 34,000-vote clerical error would not have affected the slot machine initiative.
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November 19, 2004
More missing ballots turn up in Pinellas
By DAVID KARP
Twelve absentee and provisional ballots are discovered days after a box of 268 uncounted absentees was found.
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November 4, 2004
Tax hike boosted by older voters
By THOMAS C. TOBIN and MONIQUE FIELDS
Citizens with little connection to schools backed the increase for classroom programs and teacher raises.
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The day after: high-fives, hanging heads
By DONG-PHUONG NGUYEN and CURTIS KRUEGER
For bay area fans of President Bush, life was good Wednesday. For John Kerry's supporters, not so much.
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Some uncounted ballots take confusing detour
By MICHAEL SANDLER
LARGO - A Pinellas elections worker entrusted to deliver voting results on Election Day became confused about her designated drop zone and ended up at home with the uncounted totals for one precinct.
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November 3, 2004
Election day, by the minute: An amalgam of news and scenes
By Times staff writers
7:02 A.M.: Poll workers insert the first voting card into the activation machine at Precinct 188 in northeast St. Petersburg. Nothing happens. "On no," cries an aghast poll worker, fruitlessly pushing buttons on the machine. Anxiety spreads through the room until a voice of reason makes a successful suggestion: "Turn it on."
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Charter review gets a 2-year extension
By MICHAEL SANDLER
LARGO - Pinellas voters agreed that a board of citizens and elected officials should have two more years to make changes to the county's charter.
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Coats easily beats former shock jock
By MICHAEL SANDLER
LARGO - Pinellas County elected a new sheriff Tuesday, choosing a veteran law enforcement deputy over an out-of-work shock jock.
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District 46: Legg captures coveted open seat for Republicans
By Times Staff Writer
John Legg, a 29-year-old Pasco schoolteacher, is headed to Tallahassee today after winning the District 46 state House seat on Tuesday.
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Lines pose biggest problem for voters
By DAVID KARP
Lawyers and poll watchers find little to challenge as people wait to vote hours after polls close in some counties.
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Local roots, support boost Burke's victory
By MICHAEL SANDLER
LARGO - With a catchy slogan and a cadre of local supporters, Ken Burke became Pinellas County's first new clerk of the circuit court in nearly a quarter century.
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Pinellas Suncoast race close; fee hike fails
By Times staff writers
The race for Seat 2 on the Pinellas Suncoast Fire & Rescue District commission was too close to call late Tuesday.
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Voters approve higher tax to help teachers, schools
By THOMAS C. TOBIN
The property tax increase will generate $26-million annually, mostly to boost salaries.
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Biggest voting gripe: long lines
By DAVID KARP, TOM ZUCCO, STEPHEN NOHLGREN, LEONORA LaPETER
Other than that, the election went fairly smoothly, officials say, with just a few glitches here and there.
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Newcomer joins 3 incumbents
By SHANNON TAN
LARGO - Pinellas County voters favored three incumbents and a newcomer for County Commission Tuesday.
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November 2, 2004
Late surge of voters floods polls
By Times Staff Writer
As the 7 p.m. deadline for voting fell across Tampa Bay, hundreds of voters stood in line outside churches and community centers waiting to cast ballots as the day's high turnout continued to pack some polling locations into the evening.
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All the work boils down to today
By JEFF TESTERMAN, BILL VARIAN
Hillsborough officials' preparations are put to the test with races for president, county commission and elections supervisor.
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Today, it's end of the line for voters
By DAVID KARP
With more than a fifth of voters having cast early ballots, Election Day arrives for others to make local, state and national choices.
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Get answers before you go to the polls
By DAVID KARP
Here are a few answers to questions to help get voters through today.
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Michael Moore holds hurried rally
By BRADY DENNIS
The director of Fahrenheit 9/11 speaks for about 15 minutes to a group of Kerry backers, with protesters in tow.
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November 1, 2004
Making your vote count
By DAVID KARP
Voting may be a simple act for most folks, but sometimes problems occur and voters need answers to questions.
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October 31, 2004
Polls bulge as voters file in early
By JAMIE THOMPSON and ADAM SMITH
Long waits were common as bay area voters jostled to cast ballots Saturday. About 2-million are expected to vote before Tuesday.
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October 30, 2004
Voters willfully wait to vote early
By MICHAEL SANDLER, JEFF TESTERMAN and JENNIFER LIBERTO
Despite waits of two hours or more, thousands of Tampa Bay area voters are flocking to early voting sites.
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October 29, 2004
A right turn into FishHawk
By LETITIA STEIN
New neighborhoods help the GOP make inroads in Hillsborough.
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Candidate to be interim sheriff
By LUCY MORGAN
Sheriff Everett Rice's early resignation means Chief Deputy Jim Coats, who is running to replace Rice, will run the office for now.
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Castor, Martinez keep Senate race attacks coming
By STEVE BOUSQUET and ANITA KUMAR
PORT ST. LUCIE - In a U.S. Senate race overshadowed by the battle for the White House, both candidates clutched coattails Thursday while one accused the other of impropriety.
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Judicial races' history shows gender factor
By WILLIAM R. LEVESQUE
The elections renew a debate about whether female candidates get a boost at the polls.
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October 27, 2004
Commission hopeful unfazed by odds
By SHANNON TAN
Maria Scruggs-Weston, facing three-term incumbent Bob Stewart in District 3, says voters are ready for a change.
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October 26, 2004
'04 absentee votes require more postage
By Times Staff
The self-addressed return envelope that comes with a Pinellas County absentee ballot has two spaces on it, for two stamps.
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Group formed to fight tax hike referendum
By THOMAS C. TOBIN
The public doesn't have enough information on the measure, the group's chairman says.
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October 25, 2004
Tax would preserve school programs
By DONNA WINCHESTER
A Pinellas County tax referendum would raise teacher salaries, but it would also preserve art, music and reading programs and buy supplies.
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October 24, 2004
Challenger jabs, while incumbent counters
By RAGHURAM VADAREVU
Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite says her voting record reflects her constituency; opponent Robert Whittel calls it "far right."
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State Senate hopefuls vow hard work
By BRIDGET HALL GRUMET
Incumbent Mike Fasano and challenger Steve Mattingly both promise to be responsive, but vary in their stands on the issues.
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Rallies whip up a voting frenzy
By LETITIA STEIN and JADE JACKSON LLOYD
TAMPA - On Saturday, Myron Hall attended a black Democratic rally to stand up for his right to vote. Then he exercised it - 10 days early.
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October 22, 2004
Staff hid missing votes 13 days
By JEFF TESTERMAN
An internal report says the Hillsborough elections supervisor wasn't told about the discrepancy until Sept. 16.
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For clerk hopefuls, fans could become foes after election
By MICHAEL SANDLER
Whichever candidate replaces longtime clerk Karleen De Blaker may find their audit duties soon rub current supporters the wrong way.
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Commissioners grill would-be colleagues
By MICHAEL SANDLER
At the Suncoast Tiger Bay Club, the officeholders test the mettle of two candidates.
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October 21, 2004
Poll: Voters support school tax
By THOMAS C. TOBIN
About 60 percent of those surveyed support the property tax hike, which would pay to raise teacher salaries.
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October 20, 2004
Glitches tracked as vote lines shorten
By JEFF TESTERMAN and MICHAEL SANDLER
Thousands continue to cast ballots early while the state technology office looks at Monday's delays.
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October 19, 2004
Newspaper's presidential indecision roils its readers
By SHANNON COLAVECCHIO-VAN SICKLER
George Bush disappointed editorial boards at two Media General papers, including Tampa's, that picked no one.
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Hood's new touch screen recount rule fails test, Wexler tells court
By Associated Press
FORT LAUDERDALE - Touch screen voting machines are "inherently incapable" of manual recounts and at present cannot comply with state law requiring recounts in tight races, U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler testified Monday in his lawsuit seeking some kind of paper trail for more than half of Florida's voters.
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October 18, 2004
Where to vote
By Times Staff
Early voting runs today through Nov. 1. Here are times and locations:
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Counties brace for early voting rush
By ALISA ULFERTS
Officials have added polling sites and workers throughout the bay area in anticipation of higher turnout between today and Election Day.
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October 14, 2004
U.S. House campaign silent as vote nears
By CURTIS KRUEGER
Even incumbent C.W. Bill Young's Democratic challenger, Bob Derry, admits that many voters probably don't even realize a race is going on.
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October 13, 2004
School Board endorses tax increase
By THOMAS C. TOBIN
Board members made it official after many questioned why they did not formally endorse the proposed property tax increase.
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Sheriff's debate marked by cordial, friendly exchanges
By MICHAEL SANDLER
CLEARWATER - Former shock jock Bubba the Love Sponge Clem and Chief Deputy Jim Coats seemed an odd pair Tuesday night.
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October 6, 2004
A flood of new voters - and a few washouts
By DAVID KARP
Thousands register to beat the deadline in Hillsborough and Pinellas. But hundreds made errors and won't get to vote Nov. 2.
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October 4, 2004
Voting mystery stirs call for paper trail
By JEFF TESTERMAN
Audit printers, a possible solution for electronic "undervotes," would be costly and can't be ready by Nov. 2.
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Activist group blamed for voter roll goofs
By TOM ZUCCO
A group called ACORN is faulted for late or otherwise improper voter registrations in the Tampa Bay area, as well as several states.
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