TALLAHASSEE -- At a briefing for reporters Monday, two of Florida's county election supervisors urged media to be responsible in reporting the process when ballots start getting counted in November.
Wesley Wilcox, supervisor in Marion County (Ocala), reminded his audience that the first "unofficial" results don't have to be posted until the Saturday after Election Day, and that official numbers aren't sent to the state until November 15.
Wilcox said Florida is an extremely diverse state, with counties as small as Lafayette County in North Florida and as large as Miami-Dade and Broward. He expects the impact of mail in voting to be just as divergent.
Wilcox says that with 14 million or so voters in Florida, "small mishaps are to be expected." But he hopes that they'll be reported "in context" and not used to paint the whole system as corrupt.
Leon County supervisor Mark Earley says supervisors have to concentrate on getting the count right, as opposed to getting it fast. "You can't have perfection instantaneously," Earley said.
Ben Winston of political PR firm Strategies 360 joined the conference call organized by Common Cause to talk about findings from research on voter attitudes.
Winston said a third of voters expect results within 24 hours of the polls closing, and most expect the counting to be complete within three days.
"Voters are primed to hear that the election is going badly," Winston said. He said media should be aware of that going in and make sure voters don't get what he called a "false impression of chaos." Winston said voters of all stripes want media to be more cautious in calling winners.
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