Latest news with #KarenCastorDentel
Yahoo
11-08-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Error puts wrong Democrat on nearly 90,000 Orange County sample ballots
RaShon Young opened his House District 40 sample ballot Saturday, expecting to see his name as the Democratic nominee. He had won the June primary, after all. But the name of his primary opponent, Travaris McCurdy, was on the sample ballot that arrived at his home. The same erroneous ballot was sent to almost 90,000 voters, the Orange County Supervisor of Elections admitted. 'I was a little confused is the best way to put it,' Young said Monday. Karen Castor Dentel, the first-year Supervisor of Elections, sent out a news release Saturday about the error, noting the problem only impacted sample ballots, not Election Day or early voting ballots, which will list Young as the Democratic Party's representative. Young faces Republican Tuan Le in the Sept. 2 election. The special election is necessary because Democrat Lavon Bracy Davis resigned the seat to run in the state Senate special election on the same date, where she faces Republican Willie Montague. 'The Orange County Supervisor of Elections office takes full responsibility for this mistake. We have tracked the error and found it originated in our office during artwork creation for the printing process,' said Blake Summerlin, an office spokesperson. The office is mailing people who received the incorrect ballot a 'notice of printing error' as well as a correct sample ballot, Summerlin said, which is expected to be delivered ahead of early voting beginning Aug. 23. Young defeated McCurdy, a former state representative, with more than 55% of the vote in the special Democratic primary on June 24. But McCurdy's name was on the sample ballot for the upcoming general election. 'I think it was an oversight, but I'm grateful for Karen and her team for stepping in very quickly and getting word out very quickly to people who have been affected,' Young said. 'I believe that we're going to be victorious on Sept. 2, but we're still working.' The error was limited to sample ballots sent to voters who hadn't requested a vote-by-mail ballot. The office is tallying the financial impact of the mistake, and an estimate wasn't immediately available, Summerlin said. Castor Dentel, a Democrat, was elected to the post last year. She took over for Glen Gilzean, who served a year in the post after being appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, following the retirement of longtime elections supervisor Bill Cowles. Castor Dentel has said she's been trying to dig the office out of financial troubles after Gilzean spent more than half of the office's annual budget in the first few months of the fiscal year — which included last year's presidential election. County officials accused Gilzean of misspending, citing $2.1 million given to Valencia College for scholarships, $1.9 million to CareerSource for retraining election workers and $1.1 million to the Central Florida Foundation to operate a grant program. All three organizations later returned money, which Castor Dentel and other county officials said should have been spent on running elections. In March, Castor Dentel announced her office had clawed back millions of that money to shore up the budget. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
29-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Orange County elections supervisor plans more voting sites, new office
The sign at the entrance to the Orange County Supervisor of Elections office is still partially made of construction paper. Inside, Karen Castor Dentel's staff closed her door for the first time as she prepared for her interview – and promptly got everyone in the office stuck when it refused to open again. Such is the way at the office as it recovers from the chaotic regime of her predecessor and a scandal that consumed the oxygen in the county for weeks last fall. At times, payroll was uncertain as leaders worked to recover $5 million that Glen Gilzean was accused of spending on pet projects instead of the core needs. When WFTV sat down with Castor Dentel last Tuesday, she was proudly able to announce that her office had finished paying off the last of the overdue bills and paid its poll workers on the day of the election. She quickly got about to discussing the priorities and improvement she promised voters but had to delay while getting her office organized. 'We've got to find new ways to connect with people,' she said. One of Castor Dentel's biggest priorities for the upcoming year include opening six new early voting sites to avoid the long lines the county saw in the 2024 election. She said the locations have not been chosen, but they're scouting places that are both ADA accessible and have ample parking. 'I saw so many people slowing down, looking like they were going to come vote, but then seeing the line, just kept driving,' she said. 'We don't want to turn away any voters.' She's also focused on getting voters registered. Her plans include opening a satellite office inside the Tax Collector's office at the West Oaks Mall in Ocoee where people can register to vote and get information about upcoming elections. She also spoke about a proposal to create a 'Vote-Mobile,' a truck that serves as a rolling billboard for the office with QR codes on the sides they can take to events and parades. 'You can imagine, if you're the Vote Mobile is in a parade going down the street, and people are sitting there. They can get the QR code while they're sitting there and update their voter registration right there -- right there -- while they're sitting on the sidewalk,' she said. That, she said, would address the challenge created by the new state law that resets mail-in voting requests every two years. Currently, just 10% of the 300,000 voters who received mail-in ballots in November have renewed those requests. One of her ideas to connect with voters has already been implemented. She partnered with OCPS and the League of Women Voters this past spring to attend each school's senior check out day, which gave her office a chance to capture the county's youngest civic participants. Her agenda also contains more far-out items. One is to upgrade security measures and take over responsibilities as the Department of Homeland Security continues to cut back under President Trump. Another is to find a new office space. She said her workers need about three times more square footage and their current majority-warehouse setup does not work. Their buildings are also old and for sale. Finally, she reminded voters that there were elections in progress for senate and house seats in Tallahassee. 'It's not too late to ask for your vote by mail ballot,' she said, mentioning an August 21 deadline and four early voting sites. 'Election Day is September 2, which falls the day after Labor Day weekend. We would love it if people didn't skip out on this election.' Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live. Solve the daily Crossword
