Ihosvani Rodriguez  South Florida Sun-Sentinel    14 January 2008

HOLLYWOOD - Some voters hoping to cast ballots in Hollywood's municipal elections found themselves looking at Cooper City ballots instead, marring the first hour of early voting and leading to demands for the problem to be fixed immediately.

Elections Supervisor Brenda Snipes said three poll workers believed to be responsible for the error were replaced and no problems have been reported since before 11:30 a.m. The workers typed in the wrong code in calling up the ballots, which meant some Hollywood voters were accidentally given the Cooper City information.

Those who were faced with a Cooper City ballot were able to vote for the presidential candidate and property tax decision, but not for Hollywood issues.

Snipes said it was not clear how many voters were affected. Some voters left in frustration, while others insisted on casting provisional ballots to record their votes for Hollywood mayor and city commissioner.

"This whole thing needs to be voided," said frustrated voter Bill O'Connell. "I'm not the only one who left without a say."

Commission candidate Sara Case said the only way for the problem to be resolved is to scrap the results and hold a special election. "This is a serious error," she said," and this is something all the candidates can agree on for the first time ever in Hollywood."

Snipes encouraged anyone who thinks they used the wrong ballot come back to polls, where they will be given a provisional ballot.