Tuesday, November 8, 2022 was the General Election across the country. (Not to mention that Virginia started their voting season in September, and several states were unable to count ballots for more than a week). As citizens of the greatest Nation that the world has ever seen, which has stood for the world as a beacon of freedom and democracy (rule with the consent of the governed), we DEMAND that our elections be fair and honest, and that We the People have the absolute RIGHT to question the process and the people administering that process.
On Election Day, in Tavares, at the Tavares Civic Center, the polling place for precinct 360, possibly 80 voters were given the wrong ballot. In reality, it is very difficult to make this mistake. As a voter, not trained to be a poll worker, I know this. Our Lake County Supervisor of Elections, Alan Hays calls this an embarrassment to his Department. Actually, it is a disgrace to him and an affront to citizens of Lake County who have questioned the accuracy of elections, and have been met with insults and obstruction.
At my polling station, Hope Church in Groveland, there were 7 different ballots. This is very confusing, and some of the poll workers are unable to explain clearly to voters why there are different ballots in one polling station. The explanation is relatively simple, and the working solution is relatively simple and relatively accurate – IF the poll workers are competent and trained properly.
Depending on where a voter lives, there are different candidates for different districts to vote for – the boundaries are sometimes confusing. In Lake County, we have 5 School Board Districts and 5 County Commission Districts. They don’t have the same boundaries. Several precincts, like my Precinct 130, have both Groveland City residents and county residents with a Groveland mailing address. People outside the city limits cannot vote for Groveland City Council Members. This should be easy for anyone to understand. They need two ballots for these two differing groups of voters. To prevent the mistake of giving the wrong ballot to a voter, the ballots are marked with different numerical codes.
When a voter enters, there is an ID check. The computerized Voter Registration Database identifies the voter and which part of which precinct the voter resides in. The voter is given a small printed receipt with the numerical code for the ballot on that receipt, and told to go to the next table and pick up a blank ballot with the same numerical code. If I, as a voter, can understand and follow this instruction, it should be even easier for a trained poll worker to follow and guide voters to the right ballot.
So we, as citizens of Lake County, should be asking these questions of our Supervisor of Elections:
Were the proper intake and ID procedures followed by poll workers?
Were all voters given the receipt with the proper numerical ballot code?
Were voters instructed by poll workers to match the numerical code on the receipt with the numerical code on the blank ballot?
[In 2022, I voted at Minneola – early – in the Primary in August and at my home precinct for the General Election in November. I was given the same instruction both times].
Did the Supervisor of Elections hire an incompetent poll worker?
Was the poll worker trained properly?
Was an outside entity – a contractor – responsible for hiring or training of poll workers in Lake County?
Did this poll worker intentionally give the incorrect ballots to voters?
Were volunteer poll watchers present who might have noticed and reported this mistake?
How did this mistake get past the on-site supervisor of the polling place?
Apparently, our Lake County Supervisor of Elections said it was only a few votes, and the total of those votes would not affect the outcome of the election.
To me, this represents a number of possible points of failure in an election system which is already under suspicion. Further, our elected official who is supposed to ensure that our elections are secure, failed in this case, and apparently is minimizing the significance of this incident. He absolutely should be embarrassed. But, more importantly, he should be making an apology to the citizens he has insulted by categorically insisting on the infallibility of his office, PLUS implementing plans to prevent this in the future.
While Florida has better election laws and procedures than many states, we absolutely do have some problems which MUST be addressed and remedied. ALL of our elected officials should be taking the issue of election integrity VERY seriously. Our State Legislature HAS made improvements to our system during the 2021 and 2022 legislative sessions. More has to be done. Ignoring or minimizing the faults and potential problems will not help with actual election security or with the perception of security.
Link to WESH2 report on this issue: https://www.wesh.com/article/lake-county-wrong-ballots/41986571