Hillsborough County Florida has sided with the statewide winner in all but one presidential election since 1960, making it the swingy-est county in this swing state. It's listed as one of 8 counties to watch on election night. Today the bell wether, which includes Tampa the site of the 2012 Republican National Convention is having several significant issues of equipment failure, poll workers giving out misinformation and reports of voter suppression.

The Tampa Bay Times reports:



Phones were down at several precincts earlier this morning, making it difficult for poll workers to confirm and verify voter information.

The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, a Washington D.C.-based nonprofit organization, said poll workers were giving voters incorrect information on where to vote, so that when they arrived at a precinct, many of them had to vote provisionally. Poll workers at University Area Community Development Center, at 14013 N 22nd Street and the Lake Forest Clubhouse at 14735 Lake Forest Drive were named by the group.

In addition, at least five voters in a Seminole Heights precinct were removed from the rolls without their knowledge, said David K. Johnson, an associate professor of history at the University of South Florida. An expert on American post-World War II history, Johnson was going to be on a panel tonight at USF for a BBC election watch party to discuss voter suppression, but he didn't know until he went to vote this morning that he would be able to talk about suppression personally. "I was just the victim of suppression," he said.

[...][...]It's been a long day in Florida. Just hoping we'll hear the results sooner than we heard the Bush vs Gore election decision in 2000.