In Florida, some counties faced challenges in reporting primary election results due to a technical glitch involving a vendor, according to state officials. Secretary of State Cord Byrd mentioned that counties using the vendor VR Systems experienced issues, such as websites timing out. Byrd clarified that the problem pertained specifically to public-facing websites and did not impact the transmission of data or votes to the Department of State.
A representative from VR Systems, COO Ben Martin, did not immediately respond to a voicemail seeking comment about the situation. Despite the difficulties, Hillsborough County’s Election Supervisor, Craig Latimer, reassured the public that the glitch did not affect the tabulation of votes. The problem led to intermittent downtime and slow performance on websites in the county, which includes the city of Tampa.
Latimer emphasized that the public website is entirely separate from critical systems like the vote tabulation system, voter registration system, or election night results reporting website. State officials and election administrators worked to address the technical issue promptly to ensure the integrity of the primary election process.