So. Fla. residents angry at polling sites

SOUTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, Fla. (WSVN) -- Voters don't want an apology from the mayor but want change as to how the elections are handled, not only in Miami-Dade County, but in the state of Florida.

Florida is one of the few states that has early voting and maybe more people should have taken advantage of that privilege to vote early. Long lines during elections have become historic in South Florida, and this year's election was no different. Some people had to wait until 11 p.m. to vote after waiting in line for up to seven hours.

People left polling places hungry and exhausted after the whole process. Some people even put in their votes after knowing the results, which calls into question how important Florida really was or wasn't in the election.

Even though Florida has so many electoral votes, a decision was handed down and a winner called by all major networks even before Florida votes were counted.

Voters said they want some kind of change and said they are not only angry but embarrassed. "A lot of people ran out of ballots," said Jaqueline Sanchez, "and I mean they brought them in later, but they should've had them there."

Others feel early voting was part of the problem. "They should extend the time that pre-voting should be," said Yasmin Galarza. "Get the word out on absentee voting," said Rogelip Madan. "I don't think enough people took advantage of that."

But the consensus around Miami is that something has to change. "They definitely need a new system," said Maribel Porras. "They need someone to get in there and try to do things better."

So whether it's voting early or voting absentee or having more ballots available at these polling places like Brickell where there is such a saturation of people moving into the area, voters are very concerned about how things have been handled.

Two days after the election, South Florida votes still were not in. The Mayor of Miami talked about absentee ballots coming in at the last minute and workers worked late into the night, but of course voters are still not happy, thinking the state of Florida, especially Miami-Dade County, needs to get its act together.

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