This time it was the Democratic primary for governor, in which former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno narrowly trailed lawyer Bill McBride. Early Wednesday, with 94 percent of the precincts reporting, McBride had 45 percent of the vote, while Reno had 43 percent.
A new $32 million election system put in place after the 2000 Bush-Gore presidential debacle in Florida failed miserably in its debut Tuesday: Ballots jammed, machines malfunctioned and Gov. Jeb Bush -- who will face the winner of the primary in November -- ordered polls to stay open late.
Reno's political hopes hung on three south Florida counties that also were at the heart of the 2000 election dispute. Her once commanding lead had vanished by Tuesday as McBride, a political novice, gained momentum.
The tight race stirred talk of challenges from the Reno campaign.
"When that many people are turned away from the polls, it raises enough concerns that we're going to have to take a good, hard look at the legitimacy of the election," Reno campaign manager Mo Elleithee said. "We need to wait and see what the numbers look like and what the full impact of today's voting irregularities are."
Tuesday marked the busiest election day of the year.
Voters in 12 states determined fall lineups for six open governor's offices, three of the most competitive Senate seats and a few House seats that could influence control of Congress and the shape of the remainder of President Bush's administration.
With control of Congress split and held by a narrow margin, the November elections could tip the balance either way. While the Democrats have a one-seat Senate edge, the GOP holds the House, with 222 Republicans, 211 Democrats and two independents.
The Florida voting problems seemed a rerun of the troubles the state faced in the last presidential election. Ballots were chewed up in the new touch-screen voting system and some polling stations opened late.
Problems were reported in at least 14 counties, including six of the seven sued after the 2000 vote. As the problems mounted, Gov. Bush ordered polls statewide to stay open an additional two hours.
Copyright 2002. Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
