LEE COUNTY, Fla. -- People continue being turned away from the polls, Tuesday, saying their registration information somehow didn't go through when they applied at the DMV.
Navy veteran Helene Tomlinson said she was shocked last week when she went to vote early, and a poll worker said she was not in the system, even after she applied for registration with the DMV in June. "I feel denied my right as an American citizen," she said.
Fox 4 reached out to the Florida DMV, who said they give voter registration information over to the Florida Department of State. The FDOS sent us the following statement:
"We have not received an official complaint regarding the situation you have described.
All complete voter registration applications timely submitted by eligible Floridians by the court-ordered voter registration deadline of October 18, and received by the Department of State (including applications submitted through DHSMV and tax collectors offices), were entered and made active in the Florida Voter Registration System (FVRS) database prior to the beginning of statewide mandatory early voting (which was October 29)."
However, the Lee County Elections Supervisor Sharon Harrington told Fox 4 there have been at least two complaints about the issue to their local office in recent months. She said the DMV is aware and is working closely with the state. "They know that they had some issues," she said.
Fox 4 tried to reach out to the FDOS another time through multiple avenues to find out how they haven't gotten a single complaint despite the information given to us by the Supervisor of elections and several viewers who have reached out to Fox 4 describing the same problem. We are still waiting for their response.
As for Tomlinson, she said poll workers did say she could cast a provisional ballot, but they said it wouldn't count. "I was welcomed to do that and cast my vote," she said. "But then the form would be shredded and never counted so I didn't understand that alternative."
It's unclear where in the process people's information gets lost, but Tomlinson said she just wants it fixed. "They made the error. I don't want to blame anybody, I just want it fixed. I just want to vote."
The Florida DMV is now tracing her voter registration application to see if it went through to the Department of State or if the issue is with them.
Meanwhile, Supervisor of Elections Sharon Harrington said voters experiencing this problem can bring their DMV receipt for their driver's license, which shows they indeed registered to vote, and they will register them with using that date.
