The final day of early voting turned into a very tense Saturday afternoon at the Winter Park Library, where a bomb squad blew up not one, but two suspicious packages found outside the polling site.
People were waiting in line to vote, and they had to keep waiting as police evacuated the building just before 11:30 a.m.
More than four hours later, voters were given the OK to line up again just before 4 p.m. Everyone in line by 8 p.m. was allowed to vote.
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Updates from the scene
8 p.m.
Early voting has ended in Orange County. Only those already in line will be allowed to vote early Saturday night.
The Orange County Supervisor of Elections Office, at 119 W. Kaley St., Orlando, will be open Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. for in-office absentee voting.
5:55 p.m.
Statement from Winter Park police:
"Officers of the Winter Park Police Department were called to the Winter Park Public Library (460 East New England Avenue) regarding a suspicious package at approximately 11:16 a.m. on this date. The polling deputy on scene alerted officers to a small cooler with a wire sticking out of it that had been left unattended on the east side of the building for approximately two hours.
The entire building was evacuated, including employees, visitors and a number of citizens lined up for early voting. The Orange County Sheriff's Office Bomb Disposal Unit was summoned, as was an explosives-detection canine. The canine alerted on a separate package, a black plastic bag, on the south side of the building during its cursory search of the building.
Both packages were checked by the Bomb Disposal Unit. Sheriff's Deputies determined that the cooler contained a number of small electronics and one unidentifiable item. The device was destroyed on-scene by deputies to insure that the unidentifiable item was rendered safe. That item could not be identified following the destruction of the package.
Sheriff's Deputies then destroyed the plastic bag located on the south side of the building. The contents of that bag appear to be miscellaneous garbage.
The library was reopened to the public, and voting resumed following the destruction of both packages.
Investigators from the Winter Park Police Department are collecting information and recovering the remnants of both packages. There is no information regarding who may own or have placed either package at this time."
4:35 p.m.
Polls have reopened at the Winter Park Library. A long line has now reformed outside.
All early voters in still line at 8 p.m. will be allowed to cast their ballot Saturday.
3:55 p.m.
Early voters have been allowed to start forming a line outside the Winter Park Library to resume voting.
Those who were at the polling place at the time the first device was found were given pieces of paper with "VOTER" written on them to act as tickets to return to their spot in line.
3:15 p.m.
The second device has been detonated safely outside the front of the library.
After the "boom," a bystander was heard shouting, "All right, let's go vote!"
3:05 p.m.
Winter Park police say a second suspicious device has been found in the area.
The bomb squad has gone inside the library.
2:45 p.m.
The suspicious device has been detonated safely.
Roads in the area around the Winter Park Library remain shut down. It was not immediately known when early voting will resume at the library.
Orange County Supervisor of Elections Bill Cowles says those who have waited in line will receive pieces of paper and allowed to vote first when early voting does resume.
2:35 p.m.
The bomb squad is preparing to detonate the device.
A robot performed an X-ray scan of the package, said to be a soft-side cooler with wires sticking out of it. Police said the bomb squad was still unsure about the cooler's contents, so they have opted to detonate.
2:15 p.m.
The Orange County Sheriff's bomb squad is using a robot to investigate the suspicious package.
Early voting remains suspended. Elections officials urge Orange County voters to go to one of the nine other early voting locations around the county.
1:05 p.m.
Bomb-sniffing police dog seen walking around cars in the library's parking lot.
A 300-foot perimeter has been set up around the library.
The following intersections are currently closed because of this device:
— Lyman Ave. at Fairbanks Ave.
— Chase Ave. at Osceola Ave.
— E. New England Ave. at Interlachen Ave.
The FBI has been notified about the situation.
12:15 p.m.
Early voters have been evacuated from the Winter Park Library after reports of a suspicious package outside.
A voter found the device around 11:30 a.m., and alerted a poll worker.
Early voting at the Winter Park Library has been suspended until further notice.
Early voting halted for hours
It all started just before 11:30 a.m., when an early voter alerted a poll worker at the Winter Park Library to a suspicious device sitting along the side of the building.
Police arrived within minutes and found what they described as a soft-sided, lunch-type cooler with wires hanging out of it.
Traffic Reporter Ted Noah, who was in line to cast his ballot, said an official told him the package had been under the tree since early voting began Saturday morning.
For more than three hours, Winter Park police, firefighters and the Orange County Sheriff's bomb squad investigated the package.
When a bomb-detecting robot found unknown substances inside the cooler, the bomb squad decided to detonate the device around 2:45 p.m.
About 15 minutes later, a bomb-sniffing police dog discovered a second suspicious device, also with unknown substances inside.
The bomb squad immediately detonated that one as well just outside the front of the library.
Afterward, investigators said they believe the second device was just a bag of garbage. But with hundreds of early voters still waiting outside in a safe location, first responders didn't want to take any chances.
"I think since 9/11 occurred, everyone's been on edge, and rightfully so," said Winter Park police Lt. Tom Pearson. "People are very alert to packages and items left behind. I think everyone is on alert in a public place, especially a polling location. If you ever feel unsure, just give us a call."
Police said they did not know who was responsible for the first suspicious package, or how long it was left outside the library.
The FBI has been alerted of the situation, police said.
The library and polls reopened around 4 p.m., but it was quite a wait for many people who waited a total of seven hours to cast their ballot.
Orange County elections officials did encourage voters to go to one of the nine other early voting locations around the county.
But many decided to wait it out and vote at the library.
"We're going to vote here," said one woman. Gesturing to another woman with her, sitting in a wheelchair, she continued, "She's been here with a wound and everything. She's disabled. We've been here. We are going to vote. If there's one thing I do, we're going to vote. She's been out here since this morning."
"We don't want anyone to be discouraged from voting," said another voter waiting in line. "We want to make our wait worth it. We don't want to have waited all these hours for nothing, so we're getting in there, and we're going to vote."
Orange County Supervisor of Elections Bill Cowles said everyone who is still in line at any location by 8 p.m. Saturday would be allowed to vote early, no matter how long the line is.
No one was hurt, and investigators said afterward that they did not believe the suspicious packages were actually bombs.
"There is no evidence at this time to suggest that these were explosive devices, or that they were placed intentionally," said Lt. Pearson. "But we'll give it all due diligence and look into everything here, and make sure we figure that out."
Statement from the Orange County Supervisor of Elections Office
Issued Saturday afternoon, Nov. 3:
"Early Voting has been halted at Orange County's early voting center located at the Winter Park Library (460 East New England Avenue, Winter Park). At approximately noon today, a suspicious package was reported outside the library, near the street. The Winter Park Police Department evacuated the building and is working in conjunction with the Orange County Sheriff's bomb squad to resolve the matter.
In the meantime, Orange County voters are being redirected to nearby early voting locations. Bill Cowles recommends that voters come directly to the Elections Office at 119 W. Kaley Street, in Orlando, since the facility can accommodate large numbers of voters.
Voters are reminded that the main office is open tomorrow, Sunday, November 4, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., for in-office absentee voting, and their assigned polling place is open on Tuesday, November 6, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
The Florida Division of Elections has been notified, but Florida law mandates that early voting ends today."
Nelson to Scott: Extend early voting
Even before the incident in Winter Park on Saturday, U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson has asked Gov. Rick Scott to issue an emergency order extending early voting hours in Florida through at least Sunday.
Nelson sent a letter to the governor, asking him to give voters one more day. He said early voter turnout has been enormous this election, and one extra day of voting could help prevent problems on Election Day.
"With the terrible experience that we went through in the presidential election of 2000 in Florida, the Legislature, to its credit, made it easier to vote by instituting two weeks of early voting," Nelson said to reporters. "Now, that has worked well for a decade, and all of a sudden, they're trying to constrict the number of hours and days of voting, and limiting the locations. That's just simply not right."
In his letter to Gov. Scott, Nelson wrote:
"You should be doing everything in its power to make sure everybody has the chance to vote, and that their vote is counted. Instead, Gov. Scott, you are allowing people to be turned away and jeopardizing the credibility of Florida's election."
Other groups, including the League of Women Voters, have also asked the governor to extend early voting. Scott, however, has refused.
But if he changes his mind, it would not be the first time early voting in Florida would be extended.
Former Gov. Charlie Crist extended early voting hours during the 2008 election after early votes exceeded the 1 million mark.