by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
Jacksonville should be able to go to sleep tonight knowing who will be in the mayoral runoff.
According to Supervisor of Elections John Stafford, all 285 precincts in Jacksonville should be tallied by no later than 9:30 p.m. Outside of a handful of provisional votes and overseas military absentee ballots, Stafford expects to have every vote tallied and the results online before prime time ends.
And, he doesn’t expect any problems.
“We will be on the money if we have the ballots in,” said Stafford.
For the first time, Duval County will use Accuvote optical scanners in a local election. The system was used last fall with virtually no problems and Stafford doesn’t expect any today. In fact, the only thing preventing folks from knowing who will be in the May 13 general election is a recount.
Stafford says all 285 precinct managers have been exhaustively instructed in the ballot tabulating process. About 200 of the precincts have modems that will allow poll workers to e-mail their results immediately. The others will bring disks to the voting equipment center where the results will be downloaded.
“The precincts will also all print out the results and make two copies,” explained Stafford. “One will be posted at the precinct and the other is brought in. We should know all the results by 8:30 or 9 p.m.”
With a tight and congested mayor’s race and several Council districts and constitutional officer races with multiple candidates, Stafford expects several runoffs next month. (A candidate must get 50 percent plus one vote to win. In races with multiple candidates — for example, there are seven in Council Dist. 5 — it’s unlikely one candidate will get a majority of the votes today.)
Those busy races may also require a recount, something Stafford hopes to avoid. However, state election laws dictate a mandatory recount if there’s a .5 or less difference between the first and second or second and third-place finishers.
“I do not anticipate a recount, but it’s a possibility,” said Stafford, pointing to Districts 5, 10 and 14. “If there’s a recount, it could take a couple of days. We’ll have to feed the ballots by hand.”
With 462,397 registered voters in the county and a 50 percent turnout expected, Stafford says it will take a couple of days to recount 231,000-plus ballots.
Through it all — and it will probably be an 18-hour day for many at the elections office — don’t look, or call, for Stafford. He won’t be around.
“I can’t be in the office because I’m on the ballot,” said Stafford, who’s running for reelection against Kathy Finn and Terry Wood and would normally serve as a member of the Canvassing Board. “I’ll be out campaigning, waving signs and shaking hands. Dick [Carlberg] and Robert [Phillips] are my aides and they’ll run the office.”
Several others — including County Court Judge Mallory Cooper, Council member Jerry Holland and a representative from the General Counsel’s Office — comprise the Canvassing Board, which will oversee the election and hear any recount appeals (any candidate may ask for a recount, but only if the Canvassing Board approves the request). However, Holland and Stafford are in the same boat.
“Elaine is substituting for me and Doyle Carter is subbing for Jerry,” said Stafford.
Because of provisional and oversees military ballots, it will be over a week before the elections office has counted 100 percent of the votes regardless of posted and printed results. Stafford expects 300-400 provisional voters (those who claim to be registered but can’t provide proof) with only about 25-30 percent of them proving legitimate. Overseas military voters get an automatic 10-day extension, but their ballot must be postmarked by April 15.