At 12:15 a.m., Hillsborough County Commissioner Rose Ferlita had bad news report to a roomful of reporters and residents awaiting outcomes for numerous races. More than 120 machines had yet to upload their data, so it was going to be a long wait.

"It's a joke," said Ferlita, one of three members of the county's canvassing board.

Ferlita expressed surprise that Elections Supervisor Buddy Johnson spoke briefly to reporters late Tuesday night but refused to take any questions. In a five-minute statement, Johnson mostly praised his election staff and the vendor, Premier Election Solutions.

"I don't know how you can come blind off the street like that and act like everything is fine when everyone here is frustrated with how this night has gone," Ferlita said. "How can you not give these people answers?"

Johnson abruptly left the press conference as reporters asked questions, such as why he spent the evening at the University of South Florida rather than at the elections office, and whether he would revisit the contract of the vendor, Premier, whom Ferlita and his legal counsel blamed for the glitches.

Times staff writer

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