Election Day Runs Fairly Smoothly for Lakeland Voters
It was largely smooth sailing at polling sites around Lakeland on Tuesday. Most precincts had small groups of voters lined up when they opened at 7 a.m., but wait times were short.
Poll workers said about 50 people were waiting for the doors to open at Precinct 217 in the Lake Mirror Center, but it didn't take long to get them all checked in. Precinct 211 in the Family Worship Center on East Main Street had about a dozen people lined up, according to volunteers.
Shortly after 5 p.m., there was a line of about 10 people at Precinct 231 in the First Alliance Church on East Edgewood Drive, but it moved quickly. One voter said she was in and out in less than 20 minutes.
No glitches or disturbances: There were no equipment or facility-related delays at any of the county's 172 precincts, according to Rachel Harris, community services director with the Polk Supervisor of Elections Office.
And despite especially high emotions and polarization this election cycle, Lakeland Police said there were no calls regarding disturbances at polling sites.
Flooding-related detour: Some voters assigned to the Family Worship Center at 1350 E. Main St. said it was tricky to access the church because of detours related to the pumping of flood water from Lake Bonny .
Drivers approaching from the west had no issues. The entrance on Rose Street was open, and a sign on North Lake Parker Avenue directed drivers to the precinct. However, those coming from the north or the east had to navigate detours.
Voters Shené Walsh and her uncle Michael Buckley said they drove by on Monday to make sure they knew where to go. "If he wouldn't have went yesterday, we would have (had difficulty)," Walsh said.
Even with the detours, poll worker Bill Blocher said the precinct averaged 36 voters an hour throughout the day.
Ballot counting process: More than half of the county's eligible voters cast ballots before Election Day, but election officials cautioned that it won't necessarily speed up the reporting of results.
The Supervisor of Elections Office will report the results of three different voting methods today:
Florida statutes allow election workers to begin opening and processing mail-in votes after the canvassing board has met and the logic and accuracy testing of equipment is complete, Harris said.
Polk County began processing more than 83,000 returned mail-in ballots on Oct. 28, she said. However, those results might be the last to be reported because voters have until 7 p.m. to deliver their completed ballots to either the county's election headquarters in Bartow or the operation center in Winter Haven.
Last-minute ballots delivered to Bartow will have to be transported securely to Winter Haven and reviewed by a canvassing board before they can be counted.
"There are always stragglers," Harris said.
This is a breaking story and will be updated. Check back for more details.
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