After a machine recount of votes Monday for the Sarasota County Charter Amendment, the Sarasota County Canvassing Board will manually recount the votes Thursday. The Canvassing Board ordered the manual recount Wednesday during its machine recount process, following state procedures. State law requires recounts when races are separated by less than one quarter of a percent.  The question before voters asked if all county charter amendments should be voted on during general election as long as they are filed within 120 days of the election. The move would have saved the county more than $400,…

A video of President Barack Obama thanking his campaign staff went viral on Friday. The reason? It featured the reelected president welling up as he reminisced about his humble beginnings in Chicago. After a long, hard-fought campaign — undoubtedly the president's last — it's hard to begrudge the man a few wistful tears. But not everybody thinks Obama is genuine, even in this YouTube video of an unguarded moment in front of close-knit young staffers. We've had a lot of viral moments in this campaign, including here in Sarasota with that Defeat Obama Sign back in January, a bizarre postcard …

Votes for the Sarasota County Charter Amendment question in Tuesday's election will be recounted starting Monday after the amendment was initially defeated by 322 votes. Sarasota County Supervisor of Elections Kathy Dent announced the recount Friday stating that a machine recount by the Elections Canvassing Board will begin at 8 a.m. Monday at the Supervisor of Elections Office, 101 S .Washington Blvd. The question before voters asked if all county charter amendments should be voted on during general election as long as they are filed within 120 days of the election. The move would have saved…

Christine Robinson and Charles Hines were elected Tuesday to the Sarasota County Commission. Robinson was elected to a four-year term after being appointed by Gov. Rick Scott in 2010 to fill a retirement vacancy. Robinson received 55.37 percent of the vote, or 104,347 total, against challenger Jennifer Cohen, who received 44.63 percent of the vote, 84,100 total. Hines ran unopposed, and will serve his first term on the Commission. Both Robinson and Hines are Republicans. The commissioners will be sworn in during a ceremony at 9 a.m. Nov. 20 in the Commission Chamber. Robinson lives in …

Four of seven City of Sarasota charter amendments passed in the General Election while the county's lone amendment narrowly failed. Results are still considered unofficial even though all precincts are reporting. Here are the unofficial election results for the Charter Amendments:  County All charter amendments to be voted on during general election as long as they are filed within 120 days of the election  Yes 82,964 49.90% No 83,312 50.10% City Super Majority Vote for Certain Franchises, Contracts, Leases and Pension Plan Changes   Yes                  11,093              56.06…

Whether you called it the Strong Manager or the Strong Auditor amendment, you can call it defeated. With all precincts reporting, 11,002 Sarasota city voters said no to the proposed charter amendment that would have stripped the Office of City Auditor and Clerk of most of its powers and have it transferred to the city manager. That vote was enough for 55.33 percent of the vote while 8,883 voters agreed with the amendment, which is 44.67 percent of the vote, according to the unofficial results. The amendment was brought to the ballot through a citizen-driven referendum by Citizens For A Better…

It appears that folks are a little too excited to cast their ballot in Sarasota County. Supervisor of Elections staff are having to switch out ballot boxes and scanners due to the machines jamming when voters insert their ballots, Supervisor of Elections Kathy Dent tells Patch. It's an easy explanation—a combination of this election being the first two-page ballot for Sarasota County using the optical scanners and over-eager voters, Dent said. "Voters are too anxious to put both of them in, and they're putting them in too quickly," Dent said. Dent said poll workers are on top of the situation…

Hyperlocal coverage of how voters feel about Gov. Mitt Romney vs. President Barack Obama, plus all the other races across our hyperlocal Patch network from Sarasota and beyond.

John Speicher has voted since President Dwight Eisenhower was in office, but today is the first time he decided to volunteer on Election Day. "This is the year we have to be involved," Speicher tells Patch. "We just have to do it. It means so much to our country. I spoke to more first-time volunteers—people just like me—who have never worked in an election before, and it's incredible how many people have come out." Speicher, a native of Connecticut, kept dry and cool underneath a gazebo at Pine Shores Community Center, where he stood with fellow Republican volunteers at Precinct 413. He's …

It rained buckets and voters at Precinct 215 Tuesday morning, as people braved the wet weather to cast ballots. Voters streamed through St. Paul Lutheran Church on Bahia Vista Street, but they didn't experience long lines.   Matthew Wooddall is precinct captain for the Sarasota County Democratic Party and said he hasn't seen a turnout like this in the elections he's worked in Sarasota County.  By 9:30 a.m., 582 people had voted at the precinct, Wooddall said. More than 3,500 people live in the precinct, according to records. Voter registration for the precinct was not immediately available. "…

Like-minded folks looking to drink in the celebration or loss of election night will have two options in Sarasota. Both the Republican Party of Sarasota County and Sarasota County Democratic Party will host election night watch parties on Tuesday. Here are the details for each event: Democrats Portside Patio at Marina Jack  7 p.m.; Free Features: Projection Screen TV and several other screens. Valet Parking. Local candidates. Donations will be collected to be given to the Red Cross for Hurricane Sandy recovery efforts in New York and New Jersey. No RSVP required Republicans Hyatt Regency …

Election Day is tomorrow and, many polls show President Barack Obama and former Gov. Mitt Romney running neck-and-neck nationally — but a decided, if slight, advantage for Obama in the electoral vote. Each state gets a certain number of electoral votes, based upon its population. In order to win the presidency, either Obama or Romney must win at least 270 of the 538 total electoral votes. The system has the effect of making your vote count a lot more in "swing states" — states where the majority could conceiveably vote for either candidate — than in other, more politically predictable states…

County Results Sarasota's Vote in the Presidential Race Votes Percent of Vote Barack Obama, Democrat 94,607 46 Mitt Romney, Republican 110,110 53 State Attorney 12th Judicial Ed Brodsky, Republican 101,544 53 John Torraco, Democrat 88,499 47 Total Votes Cast 190,043 County Commissioner, District 3 Christine Robinson, Republican 102,987 55 Jennifer Cohen, Democrat 83,301 45 Total Votes Cast 186,288 County Commissioner, District 5 Charles Hines, Republican 140,455 97 Write-in, Democrat 4,080 2.82 Total Votes Cast 144,535 Charter Review Board, District 2 Donna Barcomb, Republican 113,617 71 …

Come Tuesday at 7 p.m. it is all over but the shouting. But just how loud is the shouting going to be? The 2012 election season has been one of the most devisive on record according to most accounts. Even the discussion here on Patch has got heated on many occasions. Those who support President Barack Obama are solid in their support of him. The same goes for those who support the challenger, Gov. Mitt Romney. But at least one set of supporters is going to come away disappointed. The big question is, how is the country going to handle it? Usually there are threats by some that they will leave…

Prominent Sarasota and Manatee County Republicans joined by Gov. Rick Scott gave one last push Saturday to get voters to the polls. Scott, joined by U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan (R—Longboat Key), State Rep. Ray Pilon and others, gathered at Dolphin Aviation where the mood was light, but the party's message was heavy: Vote Republican and vote President Barack Obama out of the White House. "In our state two years ago, we walked in with a $3.7 billion deficit. We didn't say, 'It was the last person's problem. We can't solve it.,' Scott said. "No. We balanced the budget. And guess what? We cut …

When Jill Green's election signs were first stolen this year in the Sapphire Shores neighborhood, she thought it was a case of sour grapes, but now it turned scary. Green received a bizarre message on a postcard from the person who claimed to have stolen her Democrat candidate signs. On one side of the postcard, there's a picture of President Ronald Reagan with "Hero" underneath and President Barack Obama with "Zero" underneath his picture. On the other side is a long rant about how Democrat yard signs attract criminals. "I live around the corner from you and when I see signs that support …

The Republican Party of Sarasota County will host one last event to get out the conservative vote on Nov. 3 before the General Election, and it's a big one. Gov. Rick Scott and Congressman Vern Buchanan (R—Longboat Key), will be part of a free Election Rally at 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 3 at Dolphin Aviation, 8191 N. Tamiami Trail. Doors open at 2:30 p.m., and a reservation is requested for the rally by visiting https://sarasotagop.ticketbud.com/gotvrally.

With the Nov. 6 election coming up in a few days, it appears as though politicial flyers are being mailed to homes in a rush to influence voters. The accompanying photo shows five campaign cards that arrived in the mailbox of one local home in just one day! In light of the upcoming election we want to know what voters do when they receive campaign literature in the mail. Do you read it or toss it? We're inviting you to participate in our poll below. If you answer that you "sometimes" read campaign literature, let us know in the comments section what makes you decide to read literature from …

Actress Cynthia Nixon has won an Emmy, a Tony and two Screen Actors Guild awards, but she is also a strong advocate for women’s issues and an avid supporter of President Barack Obama. She stopped by the Sarasota Organizing for America (OFA) office to speak to a packed house on Thursday afternoon about some of the points she finds pertinent in this upcoming election, one of which is healthcare. “For me, as a cancer survivor, maybe the most important thing is Obamacare,” she said. “Under Barack Obama, I know I’m protected.” In this last week before the presidential election, Nixon is making …

To the unknowing, it would appear that Vice President Joe Biden was introduced by an ordinary senior woman sharing her story, but it turns out she's been quite active in politics. Pattie Lanier, a lifelong Democrat, started out volunteering as a kid passing out fliers with her mom to get people to vote for John F. Kennedy. "I didn't know much about him, but my mother said there was a lot at stake and we needed someone who would fight for the everyday American," Lanier said. She progressed since then becoming more involved in politics, and in Sarasota County she has served on the Sarasota …