captstanm1
11-06-2002, 12:55 PM
I live in the Spring Hill Fire and Rescue District. My recent tax bill on the house in which I live in clearly reflects that taxes are paid to them. The District is "Precinct 29." The closest fire station to my house is approximately 1.5 miles from me. The place I go to vote is between my house and the station and is within eyesight of the station.
When I entered the polling place I was checked in and signed my name on the line. I was given a ballot and as I voted and got to the end I noticed the question of allowing Spring Hill Fire and Rescue to be independant (see other thread) was not on my ballot. I approached the official "depository" for my ballot and with ballot in hand questioned the poll workers (3 of them) why the question was not on the ballot. Their response was..."This is a split precinct and therefore it is not on the ballot." I asked (ballot still in hand) if there was another ballot(a seperate one) or someone to call to raise my concern or even another place for me to vote. Response: "No...we were told it is not being voted on in this precinct because of the split."
I left the voting place and went to the station and discussed the matter with the shift commander there who notified the Fire Chief. They confirmed that I was indeed in their district. I returned to the polling place and spoke with the "Poll supervisor." She said: " I am upset too as I live in Spring Hill Fire District and vote here and I was not able to vote." (Remember...this is the poll supervisor). I mentioned to the firefighters sitting in the parking lot what had happened to me and they were flabergasted.
I spoke with the supervisor of elections for Hernando County and she said she would look into it.(she never took my name or number) I explained to her that this was a matter of a flawed election process once again and that I was not in the position of being taxed without having a say so in it.
I contacted the supervisor of elections office for the entire state and explained the situation to them. Some attorney called me back and indicated they would be in contact with the Hernando County Office and get back to me. Well...it is now 28 hours after I spoke with them and I have yet to receive a call back. I explained the same thing to them as well as my concerns and outrage at this error.
This morning I again called the supervisor of elections for the county and within an hour she called me back. She said that immediately after talking to me yesterday (around 815 am) she called the polling place pointed out to them the error. They told her: "We have it under control!" She tells me that there was indeed a different ballot(for which I asked and was told none existed) and that I was given the ballot I received in error because they were not "paying attention" to which book my name was in. She then told me that there were 5 times more people inside the Fire District in Precinct 29 than there are out of it. But she said..."not all of them voted so it would not have made a difference!" I said...I wonder how many other people got the "wrong ballot because someone was not paying attention?" She told me that she was sorry and that it was unfortunate. She also said another district was a split one.
It matters not whether the initiatve won or was defeated or even by what margin. I was not afforded, as were who knows how many others, the opportunty to exercise my constitutional right to vote on an issue that involved taxation.
She told me that she had stressed to them in the training that there was a split ballot... Yet, even the poll supervisor did not even vote on the issue because she apparently did not get that part of the training. There were at least 3-5 other poll workers in the area when I voiced my concerns and questions and none of them mentioned anything about another ballot. HMMMMMMM...What does that tell you? At the point I asked the question, I had not filed my vote and that ballot could have been marked as an error and I could have re-voted.
When I entered the polling place I was checked in and signed my name on the line. I was given a ballot and as I voted and got to the end I noticed the question of allowing Spring Hill Fire and Rescue to be independant (see other thread) was not on my ballot. I approached the official "depository" for my ballot and with ballot in hand questioned the poll workers (3 of them) why the question was not on the ballot. Their response was..."This is a split precinct and therefore it is not on the ballot." I asked (ballot still in hand) if there was another ballot(a seperate one) or someone to call to raise my concern or even another place for me to vote. Response: "No...we were told it is not being voted on in this precinct because of the split."
I left the voting place and went to the station and discussed the matter with the shift commander there who notified the Fire Chief. They confirmed that I was indeed in their district. I returned to the polling place and spoke with the "Poll supervisor." She said: " I am upset too as I live in Spring Hill Fire District and vote here and I was not able to vote." (Remember...this is the poll supervisor). I mentioned to the firefighters sitting in the parking lot what had happened to me and they were flabergasted.
I spoke with the supervisor of elections for Hernando County and she said she would look into it.(she never took my name or number) I explained to her that this was a matter of a flawed election process once again and that I was not in the position of being taxed without having a say so in it.
I contacted the supervisor of elections office for the entire state and explained the situation to them. Some attorney called me back and indicated they would be in contact with the Hernando County Office and get back to me. Well...it is now 28 hours after I spoke with them and I have yet to receive a call back. I explained the same thing to them as well as my concerns and outrage at this error.
This morning I again called the supervisor of elections for the county and within an hour she called me back. She said that immediately after talking to me yesterday (around 815 am) she called the polling place pointed out to them the error. They told her: "We have it under control!" She tells me that there was indeed a different ballot(for which I asked and was told none existed) and that I was given the ballot I received in error because they were not "paying attention" to which book my name was in. She then told me that there were 5 times more people inside the Fire District in Precinct 29 than there are out of it. But she said..."not all of them voted so it would not have made a difference!" I said...I wonder how many other people got the "wrong ballot because someone was not paying attention?" She told me that she was sorry and that it was unfortunate. She also said another district was a split one.
It matters not whether the initiatve won or was defeated or even by what margin. I was not afforded, as were who knows how many others, the opportunty to exercise my constitutional right to vote on an issue that involved taxation.
She told me that she had stressed to them in the training that there was a split ballot... Yet, even the poll supervisor did not even vote on the issue because she apparently did not get that part of the training. There were at least 3-5 other poll workers in the area when I voiced my concerns and questions and none of them mentioned anything about another ballot. HMMMMMMM...What does that tell you? At the point I asked the question, I had not filed my vote and that ballot could have been marked as an error and I could have re-voted.