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LIVE CHAT: Report Voting Issues and Experiences Here

How was your 2012 voting experience? Share with Patch and your neighbors.

 

Did you vote early?

Did you have to vote at a new polling location due to redistricting?

People all around town are talking about voting and are eager to hear other people's experiences. Share yours below.

If you had an issue at the polls that you think needs more attention, this is the place to tell us about it.

About this column: What's Tampa Bay Saying is an occasional column that features local, state or national news that we want to get the entire region's take on. These stories are posted on the various local Patch sites throughout Tampa Bay. That way, you can see what your neighbors think, as well as some of the different opinions that make each part of Tampa Bay so unique. We'll follow each column with a roundup of the very best local comments on our individual Patch sites so you can see exactly what readers in your community had to say about a particular topic. Related Topics: Vote, election guide, and elections 2012

Jenny S

9:13 am on Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Went to Meade Manor, no issues at all and no wait.

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B.K

4:21 pm on Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Went to Vote on Dr. Martin Luther King Way and no lines several parking spots right up front. 4pm Tuesday. Now go out and vote people it's Hussien or Mitt your choice.

Doug Dunbar

9:21 am on Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Voting Issue- Maximizing the right to vote should be a core value. Why reduce early voting this year, they eliminated the Sunday voting before the election, traditionally a heavy day for minorities, hourly workers and shut-ins voters......wonder what Gov Scott's motivation was to ignore the requests to help these groups?

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TBL35

5:54 pm on Tuesday, November 6, 2012

He certainly doesn't care about any of those groups. I agree we should make it easier, not sure why I'm running into people who think it's great to have to stand in line for 4 hours to vote. It's shameful.

Michael D.

9:26 am on Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Was at my voting poll on 2299 Drew St. this morning (at 7am), other than waiting about an hour, there were no issues. The staff was friendly and helpful.

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Anne Onomous

9:28 am on Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Just a note to all before the day is over:

My 80's something parents weren't sure if they'd be up to standing in line to vote today, so when the absentee/early voter ballot came in they filled it out and mailed it back to the county elections offices. Anyway, I found an online site that verifies if your ballot was received and vote(s) counted.....My Mom's wasn't...AND she is still eligible to vote it says! So later today I'll take her to the precinct. Bottom line: Verify if you can your mail-in vote was received!

Here's the link!

https://www.electionsfl.org/pinellas/index.php?mais=Y

"Anne"

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Michael D.

9:45 am on Tuesday, November 6, 2012

I completely agree, make sure you are counted.

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Lynda

10:05 am on Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Great information, thanks for the link. My parents were very worried too about their absentee ballots.. And one reason my husband and I stood in the early voting lines.

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Lynda

10:10 am on Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Anne, I just used the site to check on my parents' ballots. Again. thanks for the information. It only told me that their ballots were received, not that they were counted. Was there another site that tells about the counting?

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Lynda

10:32 am on Tuesday, November 6, 2012

No worries about the counting. Absentee ballot counting hasn't begun so the site wouldn't show that. Again, Anne, thanks for the link to the site that shows the ballot was received.

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Dan

11:35 am on Tuesday, November 6, 2012

You must click on "Show My Absentee / Mail Ballot Information". It will show the date it was mailed to you and the date received by them. Mine was handled correctly. I dropped it off (didn't trust the mail) out front at Starkey Rd election facility on Monday Oct 29 and it was recorded properly.

Kyrja

9:29 am on Tuesday, November 6, 2012

We voted last Thursday at the West Pasco Government Center. We arrived at 6:45PM and walked right through. Every single person we encountered was not only helpful, but also cheerful and eager to help. I must say, it was the most-delightful experience in voting I have ever encountered. Kudos to the volunteers and those who organized this particular setup. Well done.

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Chris Taylor

10:03 am on Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Good to hear stories of smooth voting. Thanks for commenting.

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RD

10:21 am on Tuesday, November 6, 2012

I'm a poll watcher. So far, no issues today. I hope it stays that way for the rest of the day.

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Roxie Spell

11:05 am on Tuesday, November 6, 2012

District 103 River Ridge Country Club. Volunteers are outstanding! Great job! Easy in and out 10:30 a.m.

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Harborite

11:14 am on Tuesday, November 6, 2012

I just voted in Safety Harbor at the Espiritu Santo Church this morning. It took me more than one hour to vote. The line to vote was the longest that I have ever seen. I saw some people leave because they couldn't wait any longer to vote. We can thank Gov. Scott for much of this mess. If he and the legislature hadn't shortened early voting from 14 days to 8 days, the long wait to vote would have been much shorter.

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MariaSRQ

11:58 am on Tuesday, November 6, 2012

I was able to drop my absentee ballot off at a drive by location today. It took less than a minute. Awesome!

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Chanta

12:25 pm on Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Ballot scanner at Tingley Library in Bradenton Beach was jamming at 7:30 am. It jammed on me, and the person in front of me as the ballot was going through. The poll worker had to open the scanner with a key to get my ballot to go through. Then the ballot counter read Ballot not counted. Not sure my vote counted. I was not at all happy about this.

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Chris Taylor

2:08 pm on Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Chanta, I passed your comment along to our Bradenton Patch editor. If you'd like to email me about this, it's Chris.Taylor@Patch.com

RD

12:38 pm on Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Chanta, Please call 1-866-OUR-VOTE (1-866-687-8683) and report this.
It's very important that your vote and everyone else's counts!

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Michael D.

12:39 pm on Tuesday, November 6, 2012

RD,
Thanks for keeping watch for said issues.

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Chanta

12:48 pm on Tuesday, November 6, 2012

I called 1-866-OUR-VOTE within an hour of it happening. I did not reach a live person, but was directed by the message to leave a detailed message, which I did.

RD

12:58 pm on Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Thanks so much! I'll try to follow up for you.

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RD

6:25 pm on Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Chanta, I'm sorry I did try but I can't follow up on your issue from this morning. There are a lot of things going on throughout the state and I don't have the clout to look into any of them. I was just there as an observer and to provide support and information for anyone who needed it. I would like to assure you that everyone who leaves a message will have their issue followed up.

Heath

2:31 pm on Tuesday, November 6, 2012

This wasn't reported in Fl yet that I know of but if happening here could be anywhere the person posted on YouTube..... http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=QdpGd74DrBM&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DQdpGd74DrBM

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Gene "Doc" Webb

4:37 pm on Tuesday, November 6, 2012

St. Pete Polling Place Activity
A tour of St. Pete Polling places between 2:30 and 4:00 revealed short or no lines at all Polling places except 1. The Polling location at Sunken Gardens had a long line extending all the way back to Carrabas.

Poll workers all provided the following information:
• There were long lines waiting for the Polls to open
• The lines were all basically gone by around noon
• There were more young people voting than any of the Poll workers had ever seen before
• Every Polling location indicated they had far exceeded any total of voters in the past.

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Michael D.

5:34 pm on Tuesday, November 6, 2012

I was in line at 6:45 this morning and it took an hour before I was voting. People were out this morning.

Charles Schelle

4:41 pm on Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Sarasota County is dealing with its first two-page ballot and the machines are jamming because people are putting in both pages at once. Some voters said they didn't realize there was even a second page because they were stuck together. For more: http://patch.com/A-ztvR

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Watts

5:25 pm on Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Warning: Republican desperation to steal Obama votes! This is for real, so anybody on Facebook or getting emailed instructions that appear to be a helpful hint to Democrats, this is a deception. Read on...

http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/technolog/dont-pass-it-voting-booth-hoax-spreads-facebook-1C6884772

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TransPlant

6:00 pm on Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Y'all should do the mail in thing, no lines

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Gene "Doc" Webb

7:12 pm on Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Posting from the Pinellas County Republican election party. Big crowd waiting for results.

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Gene "Doc" Webb

7:15 pm on Tuesday, November 6, 2012

500 to 700 people already at the Republican victory party

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Gene "Doc" Webb

7:54 pm on Tuesday, November 6, 2012

The Party is in full swing. Pictures tomorrow on Pics and Clips.

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Gene "Doc" Webb

8:01 pm on Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Unexpectedly Peter Nehr is trailing

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Gene "Doc" Webb

8:11 pm on Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Mood growing more somber as vote leans toward Obama.

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Gene "Doc" Webb

8:21 pm on Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Crowd mood picking up as state vote for Romney begins to look better for the moment.

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Gene "Doc" Webb

8:24 pm on Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Brickfield and Bostock giving concession speeches.

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Gene "Doc" Webb

8:31 pm on Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Crowd is thinning out as final Pinellas count comes in

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Lynda

9:01 pm on Tuesday, November 6, 2012

"Doc", thanks for taking the tough assignment to post from the victory party!!!! Seriously, thank you for telling us all what is going on there.

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Gene "Doc" Webb

9:33 pm on Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Republican victory party biggest winner is Sheriff Bob Gualtieri. Given the rest of the County results Gualtieri may find a larger role in County politics.

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