BY TYLER BRIDGES tbridges@herald.com

Late-opening precincts, malfunctioning machines, missing vote totals: Who was to blame for the primary Election Day mess in South Florida?

Not Gov. Jeb Bush, most voters say, despite efforts by Democrats Janet Reno and Bill McBride to convince them so.

Three out of four Florida voters put the blame for the Sept. 10 election problems on local election officials, poll workers or voters themselves, according to a new Herald/St. Petersburg Times survey of 800 voters statewide.

Only 16 percent pointed the finger at Bush, while 36 percent blamed local election officials, 23 percent named voters and 14 percent said poll workers.

''The problem was with the local training,'' said Sandra Glinn, a Reno supporter and one of those surveyed. ``I'm not sure why the governor should be blamed.''

Reno, McBride and other Democrats point to Bush because he is the state's top elections official and because, after the Legislature last year approved a measure overhauling Florida's voting system, the governor said election problems had been solved.

Bush has responded that elections are organized by local officials and that no counties other than Miami-Dade and Broward reported major difficulties.

Despite the problems this year and two years ago -- when a post-election recount delayed the outcome of the presidential election for 36 days -- most voters expressed confidence in Florida's voting system.

Nearly three in four voters agreed with the statement that future elections will reflect the will of voters, while only 19 percent disagreed.

And by a 69-23 margin, voters believe that officials will solve the problems before the Nov. 5 general election.

The supervisors of elections in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, David Leahy and Miriam Oliphant respectively, have sought and received promises of help from other officials. The assistance will include better training of poll workers and more technical experts at polling precincts in case machines don't work properly.

''They've got plenty of time,'' said Elizabeth Butler, a Miami Springs homemaker who was surveyed. ``We're the laughingstock of the country. There's something wrong with us if they can't.''

Pam Hendricks is among the skeptics.

''I don't trust the voting system in Florida,'' said Hendricks, a Davie resident who responded to the poll. ``It has become very foreign.''

-- Anonymous, September 30, 2002