What's behind smoother voting in Collier Co.
-
While voters across the state and at locations in Lee waited in extremely long lines at the polls -- and dealt scanner malfunctions, it was mostly smooth sailing in Collier County. Video by fox4now.com
video
NAPLES - While voters across the state and at locations in Lee waited in extremely long lines at the polls -- and dealt scanner malfunctions, it was mostly smooth sailing in Collier County.
"We knew by shifting voters to absentee that alleviates that Election Day voting," said Tim Durham, chief deputy for the supervisor of elections.
The Collier Co. Supervisor of Elections spent much of the past year encouraging early voting to alleviate the lines.
In addition, they discovered that current law allowed them to shorten the ballot from four pages to three, which allowed voters to get in and out of the ballot booth - faster.
Lee County voters dealt with the standard four page ballots which may have led to the longer lines and wait times.
Durham also had extra scanners on standby in case they were needed and staffed polling locations with enough scanners based on the number of people expected to turn out at the location.
"We wanted to deploy as equipment as possible. We even took the early voting scanners and as soon as we were done with them we cleared them and prepped them from deployment for Election Day."
The deputy chief also said that shortening early voting from 12 days to 8 days did not impact regular voting because longer hours allowed more people to come after work.
"No election is ever perfect we always strive to do things to try to make it better and that's what we'll be shooting for in the future."
This site uses Facebook comments to make it easier for you to contribute. If you see a comment you would like to flag for spam or abuse, click the "x" in the upper right of it. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use.