Posted on 11/12/2018 8:49:06 AM PST by Beautiful_Gracious_Skies
Counting unlawful votes. Destroying ballots. Sunshine Law violations. Busted deadlines.
So many controversies have bedeviled Broward County Elections Supervisor Brenda Snipes — culminating in her office’s troubles in the aftermath of Florida’s chaotic 2018 elections — that her days in office are now numbered, insiders and lawmakers say. She’s losing support from fellow Democrats and faces the increasing likelihood of an embarrassing suspension from office at the hands of either Gov. Rick Scott or his likely successor, Ron DeSantis.
Suspending Snipes from office would put a final exclamation point on one of the most contested midterms in recent Florida history, which has resulted in three statewide recounts — for U.S. Senate, governor and agriculture commissioner — as well as recounts in three local legislative races. Removal proceedings in the GOP-led FL Senate could also cause a possible rift among Florida state Senate Democrats if the black caucus rallies around Snipes in the same way it did around her predecessor, who was also African-American, more than a decade ago.
“This is not just the most troubled elections office in the state, it’s the most troubled elections office in the nation,” said Sen. Marco Rubio, who contends that Snipes needs to be removed from office once the recounts that began Sunday ... are over.
“She has shown she’s incapable of conducting a large and important election in a way that inspires public confidence and trust,” Rubio said. “She’s been found to have destroyed ballots, in violation of the law. Opened absentee ballots early, in violation of the law. Misprinted ballots that have gone out.”[snip]
If Snipes is suspended by the governor, incoming Florida state Senate President Bill Galvano said it’s time to have his chamber investigate and prepare to strike the final blow by removing her from office — just as the chamber did to her predecessor, Miriam Oliphant, for mismanaging the 2002 Democratic gubernatorial primary.
“What she’s demonstrated over the years is a series of mistakes that rise above the level of negligence and into incompetence,” Galvano said. “We can’t continue to keep ignoring this and every option should be on the table.”
Under Florida's constitution, "incompetence" is a specific cause that a governor can invoke in suspending a constitutional officer such as Snipes.
Democrats say Snipes has privately confided that she plans to quit, but it’s unclear when. “I hope it’s soon,” said one state Senate Democrat... “Otherwise, she’s a goner.” ...
Neither Scott's nor DeSantis’ teams will comment on the record about their plans for what many see as Snipes’ looming suspension, because both men are involved in races that are the subject of recounts and lawsuits. They don’t want their comments used against them in court, according to those close to both Republicans. [snip]
... [Scott's]The lawsuit against Snipes reads like an indictment, detailing numerous instances of Snipes ignoring the law and busting statutory deadlines....
“In 2016, the SOE office: (i) mailed an unknown number of absentee ballots that omitted a proposed state constitutional amendment; (ii) posted early voting numbers online before the polls closed in primary elections; and (iii) opened ballots in private which prevented citizens and other groups of ensuring ballots were properly cast and counted,” .... “in 2017, the Supervisor of Elections: (i) admitted that her office has allowed ineligible voters — including felons and non-citizens — to cast votes; and (ii) wrongfully authorized the destruction of ballots cast in the 2016 Democratic primary election for the 23rd Congressional District of Florida.” [snip]
However, the parade of horribles leads to one question that Scott’s spokesmen won’t or can’t answer: Why didn’t he suspend Snipes before if, as his suit says, she “has a long and troubling history of violating Florida election law, especially in close elections?"....
Scott’s lawsuit [last week] Snipes failed to provide public information concerning the votes she had left to tally after Election Day — information that should readily be at her fingertips and that, under Florida’s Sunshine Laws, she should have disclosed. Snipes was unwilling or unable to provide the data, and her office didn’t follow state law requiring regular vote tally updates every 45 minutes... Then, in the dead of night, the office suddenly uploaded tens of thousands of new ballots in the Democratic-heavy county, causing Scott’s margins statewide to fall so far that it triggered a recount...[snip]
To cap it all off, the recount was supposed to start at 7 a.m. Sunday. But ....delayed... until just before noon. At the last minute, Snipes also admitted to mistakenly including 22 [illegal] absentee ballots...Broward County also failed to finish tallying its available votes by noon Saturday, the deadline... It also failed to upload all the in-person early votes and available absentee ballot votes by 7 p.m. on the day before the election. [snip]
“Scott shouldn’t kick her out of office. He should send her flowers,” an insider connected to DeSantis said sarcastically. “this is a problem for everyone and Scott should have removed her before this happened. This is his problem. He should have fixed it. Ron will if he has to.”
Many Democrats refrained from speaking critically of Snipes. But some clearly have had enough....
We honor veterans today. But the sacrificed lives of hundreds of thousands of soldiers, sailors, Marines, and airmen will be for naught if the enemy within does what Stalin, Brezhnev, Hitler, Tojo, and George III could not: defeat and conquer America.
My eyes are on Mary Hall, overseeing the filling out of blank baplots per a filed affidavit.
The whole world knows this is not incompetence. But does it matter? No, she will get away with her criminality like many others. And it will continue.
Seems like Snipes’ boss, Ken Detzner, should be the one to handle this.
That affidavit was quite disconcerting. Mary was the one of four SOE workers ID by the witness.
Palm Beach just stated they will make the Thursday 7PM deadline.
There’s an order to the madness in Florida.
1. Governor must suspend a SOE. (SOS has no authority here.)
2. FL Senate must investigate and then likely fire the SOE.
Okay. “We’re waiting.”
Sen. Nelson just demanded that Gov. Scott recuse himself from the vote process.
Not gonna happen. FL law includes its governor within the actual election canvassing process.
Nelson is not a fighter, some one has lit a fire under him to get him to act assertively.
Florida Department of State spokeswoman Sarah Revell told Fox News, though, that under state law, if a county does not submit their results by the deadline, then the results on file at the time take their place.
She added that Florida’s secretary of state has no authority to grant extensions.
Strange, the word ‘ARRESTED’ never appears in any articles about this multiply offending criminal.
The incompetence is a feature, not a bug.
Whenever I vote, I make damn sure I placed a vote for every big race.
Kemp... check, Austin Scott(US House)... check, etc.
I never ever just assume that I voted for them.
“She’s losing support from fellow Democrats”
She is? I doubt it.
Only the honkies.
:She is just the middle man in a highly coordinated, well funded political coup.”
I think so, too. I pray that some office is already in the process of dumping all her landline and cell phone data. She’s a puppet; she has handlers.
Sheriff Israel should resign as well. He closed the airport and sent the bomb squad it seems for the ballot box found in the rental car.
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