Election 2020: Pinellas County Primary Results

PINELLAS COUNTY, FL — Concerns about the coronavirus outbreak kept many Pinellas County voters away from the polls for Tuesday's presidential preference primary. And voters who braved the trip to their the polling place said they were met with confusion.

Some volunteer poll workers failed to show up. Those who did show up had to divide the tasks among fewer people, slowing down the voting process.

Valrico resident Yvette Hammett described her polling place at the Hillsborough County Fairgrounds as a "ghost town."

"When I arrived a little before 9 a.m., there were only two other voters there," she said. "After I filled out my ball0t, I couldn't see where to take it. A volunteer guided me and said, "We were supposed to have 12 people today, but only four showed up."

Other voters showed up at the wrong precinct due to last-minute shuffling of precincts at assisted living facilities, which now have restricted access.

Residents who were able to vote came to the polls armed with plenty of hand sanitizer and wipes.

Tampa Bay voters fared better than voters in other parts of the state, however. Delray Beach resident Phil Metzler said he never got the chance to vote.

"My precinct never opened up for voting," he said. "The reason given was that the person who has the ability to open the machines never showed up."

He blamed Florida Gov Ron DeSantis for failing to follow the example of governors in Georgia and Ohio, who postponed the primaries in their states.

"As our governor has said, we voted in the Civil War," said Metzler. "I think I would have survived better voting during that time period than I would have today. I feel my right to vote has been suppressed or, better yet, stolen."

Candidates In Republican Primary Votes

Roque "Rocky" De La Fuente 1.26 percent

Donald J. Trump 90.89 percent

Joe Walsh 3.21 percent

Bill Weld 4.634 percent

Candidates In Democratic Primary Votes

Michael Bennet 0.19 percent

Joe Biden 55.62 percent

Michael R. Bloomberg 9.96 percent

Cory Booker 0.09 percent

Pete Buttigieg 3.35 percent

Julian Castro 0.05 percent

John Delaney 0.05 percent

Tulsi Gabbard 0.61 percent

Amy Klobuchar 1.36 percent

Deval Patrick 0.04 percent

Bernie Sanders 25.37 percent

Joe Sestak 0.04 percent

Tom Steyer 0.13 percent

Elizabeth Warren 2.67 percent

Marianne Williamson 0.12 percent

Andrew Yang 0.35 percent