Ironic name for a Democrat. (^:
Bye, bye,
Ms. Oliphant...
Early vote plan goes awry; poll sites shut (Prelude To The Coming Broward Election Mess). Miami Herald, Sept. 8:
About two dozen angry voters showed up to cast ballots at a regional polling place in Plantation Saturday, only to learn the site was closed -- even though Broward Supervisor of Elections Miriam Oliphant had urged residents to cast early ballots there as a convenience.
''Someone just didn't do what they were supposed to do,'' said Ruth Thomas, 56, of Weston, one of several people who left the West Regional Courthouse Saturday disappointed and angry they couldn't vote. ``I wonder how many people would have voted and won't vote.''
Oliphant did not return phone calls seeking comment about the mix-up Saturday.
As recently as Aug. 22, Oliphant indicated the main elections office and five regional sites would remain open from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturdays until the election. Oliphant had touted the regional locations as a way to avoid delays at the polls on Tuesday, when Broward's $17.2 million investment in touch-screen voting technology debuts countywide.
Rick Riley, Oliphant's spokesman, said the regional polling sites, including the courthouse at 100 N. Pine Island Rd., were only supposed to be open on the previous two Saturdays, Aug. 24 and 31.
Asked why the polls weren't open Saturday, Riley responded: ``She just chose not to.''
He added, ``The offices were not scheduled for early voting today.''
Saturday's snafu came on the heels of a storm of recent criticism leveled at Oliphant's office, questioning her preparedness for an election that will be the biggest challenge yet for the first-term elections chief.
Thomas said she arrived at the courthouse at 9:30 a.m. Saturday with her mother, Lucille Jones, 79, of Weston, and daughter, Cindy Thomas, 36, of Tamarac. All three intended to vote. But they never made it inside.
Instead, they found 20 to 25 would-be voters venting their frustration. Two men distributing campaign literature for Alan Marks, a candidate for Broward Circuit Court judge, pulled out their cellphones and called the other regional polling places, but no one answered, Ruth Thomas said.
Still, thinking the polling place might open later, Thomas did not give up. She and her mother and daughter drove to a nearby Denny's on Sunrise Boulevard, ate breakfast and came back about an hour later. Again, they left without voting.
In recent weeks, Oliphant's office has struggled with a shortage of poll workers and fielded complaints about inaccurate and duplicate voter-registration cards.
On Thursday, state officials ruled that Broward had to have a more diverse pool of poll workers.
For Broward voters still haunted by the November 2000 presidential election, patience with Oliphant's office may be running out.
''I would like to know why this happened,'' said Ruth Thomas, who still plans to vote on Tuesday -- at a new polling place in Weston.
``I would think that with everything that happened in the presidential race, they would have gone above and out of their way to say things that were true and they would be there.''