DID YOU KNOW?

Brenda Snipes was backed by Governor Jeb Bush?

"Snipes was asked to serve as the Supervisor of Elections in Broward County nearly 15 years ago, shortly after the infamous 2000 Florida recount in the presidential race between George W. Bush and Al Gore, WTSP reported. Broward is the second largest county in Florida with 1.15 million voters, second only to Miami-Dade County, which has about 1.4 million voters. Snipes was appointed in November 2003, after he predecessor was forced out amid controversy. Under former County Supervisor Miriam Oliphant, WTSP reports, uncounted votes were found stuffed in a cabinet drawer and her department was more than $1 million over budget.

Snipes, who has lived in the county since 1964, was re-elected in 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2016.

Snipes has come under fire before. A judge ruled that her office improperly destroyed ballots too early in a 2016 Congressional race. Her office was also accused of facilitating voter fraud but a judge cleared Snipes and her office of any wrongdoing in the case.

Republican Florida Senator Marco Rubio claimed that Snipes has a history of “blatant violations.”

“A U.S. Senate seat & a statewide cabinet officer are now potentially in the hands of an elections supervisor with a history of incompetence & of blatant violations of state & federal laws,” he wrote on Twitter.

“In 2016, Brenda Snipes’ office posted election results half an hour before polls closed – a violation of election law,” Scott said at his news conference. “That same year, her office was sued for leaving amendments off of ballots. In 2014, Brenda Snipes’ fellow Democrats accused her of individual and systemic breakdowns that made it difficult for voters to cast regular ballots. All Floridians should be concerned about that.”

Snipes rejected allegations of wrongdoing prior to the election in an interview with The Miami Herald.

“I think the problems are blown out of proportion,” Snipes said in October. “Broward is nitpicked to the bone. Other places have the same problems, different problems. It’s just that they are not spotlighted like we are.”