Scanner breaks down twice at polling place

NOVEMBER 04, 2008

ST. PETERSBURG -- An optical scanner broke down twice at a polling place by Lake Maggiore in St. Petersburg, but poll workers said it wasn't a major hindrance.

At Lake Maggiore Baptist Church at 4100 M L King St. S, the polling place for precincts 109 and 111, the machine shut down at 7:35 a.m.

"It just went black and wouldn't do anything," said Wilma Cameron, a clerk for the Supervisor of Elections.

The first machine had to be replaced, which kept about 20 ballots from being cast immediately. Cameron said the wait was about 15 minutes.

At 4:38 p.m., it shut down again. But the poll workers rebooted it and carried on. About six voters waited for the machine to start again to cast their votes themselves. Again, the wait was just minutes, Cameron said.

Cameron said the elections office said the first machine may have broken because of humidity seeping in from open windows.

--Stephanie Garry, Times Staff Writer

Posted by Times Editor at 6:57:29 pm on November 04, 2008 in

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