Backlog delays Hillsborough totals
On an otherwise smooth election night, an overflow of data meant Hillsborough's final numbers won't be known until this morning.
By BRADY DENNIS and TAMARA LUSH
St. Petersburg Times  September 1, 2004

Touch screens passed the test.

Sixteen counties, including Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco, used the electronic voting machines with few problems Tuesday.

The real technical problems came only later, and only in Hillsborough.

After most counties around Tampa Bay had posted nearly all their election results, Hillsborough barely had posted a third of its precincts by 11 p.m.

Hillsborough Supervisor of Elections Buddy Johnson said too much information was being loaded into the server of the department's computer system, creating a backlog that needed to be fixed. He likened the problem to a lot of water trying to flow through a narrow pipe.

"There is no problem with our system," Johnson said as the hours wore on. "My focus is on accuracy and dependability. Every vote is safe."

Still, he was headed for a long night ahead.

"If it continues to operate at this speed, we're going to be here several hours," Johnson said just after 11:15 p.m., as technicians worked on the computers. "We've done everything we know to do."

He said the delay could last well into this morning.

Earlier in the evening, Johnson's mood had been much more upbeat. At 7:29 p.m., he smiled as a large screen lit up inside the room where reporters, campaign workers and staff members had gathered.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he said, "Results!"

And the first numbers appeared.

"Our equipment is the best on the market," Johnson said. "It performs well."

As the night wore on, and the vote results came at only a trickle, people began to disagree.

"Here we go again," said former state Sen. John Grant. "It tends to erode any confidence people have in the election process."

The delay also left many Hillsborough candidates on pins and needles. Up since 5:30 a.m., retired educator and school board candidate Janice Torgersen was running low of energy by 11 p.m. with only 6 percent of the precincts in her race reporting.

"I had a Diet Coke a couple of hours ago. That's what's keeping me going," she said. "I'm very happy for those people who do know. They can give themselves a smile in the mirror and go to bed."

Touch screen machines fared well on Tuesday, at least from the voters' point of view.

"Easy as pie," said Deb Cunningham, 44, as she left her South Tampa precinct. "It's been decades that we needed to change."

- Staff writers David Karp, Jonathan Milton, Melanie Ave and Josh Zimmer contributed to this report, which used information from the Associated Press.