Florida Official Known for Missteps in Recount Cross Hairs | Political News

FILE- In this Nov. 9, 2018 file photo Brenda Snipes, left, Broward County Supervisor of Elections, looks at a ballot with Betsy Benson, canvbading board in Lauderhill, Fla. Snipes is a target for the GOP, including forming Gov. Jeb Bush, who appointed her to the post in 2003. Snipes, a Democrat, has been re-elected since then, and is unapologetic about her record. (AP Photo / Joe Skipper, File) The Associated Press

By CURT ANDERSON, Associated Press

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) – At the center of Florida's presidential vote, President Donald Trump said that President Donald Trump, who is fraudulent is afoot.

Lawyers for Republican Gov. Rick Scott, who is in a razor-thin Senate race with incumbent Democrat Bill Nelson, have claimed that Broward Supervisor of Elections Brenda Snipes committed fraud. Trump has echoed those claims on Twitter.

State monitors and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement say there are no indications of fraud in the county's vote.

Yet, Snipes, has Democrat, remains a target for the GOP, including forming Gov. Jeb Bush, who appointed her to the post in 2003 when the former supervisor was accused of malfeasance and now says Snipes should be removed. Snipes has been re-elected since then, and is unapologetic about her record.

"I've worked here for about 15 years," Snipes told reporters Monday. "There have been issues that you can call it a mistake or you can call it whatever you want to call it."

On Tuesday, Snipes hinted to reporters that she could not run for re-election in 2020 – "It is time to move on," she said – but quickly added that no final decision has been made.

"I'll check with my family and they'll tell me what I'm doing," she said.

Since Snipes has been in office, there seems to be a long list of these mistakes.

Earlier this year, for example, in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Debbie Wbaderman Schultz without waiting 22 months. Also in 2016, a medical marijuana amendment did not appear on some broward bails, and again that year results from primary elections were posted on the website before polls had closed.

A week after the 2012 election, about 1,000 uncounted bales were suddenly discovered. And in 2004, about 58,000 mail-in bales were not delivered, requiring workers to hurry to replace them.

Just last week, a judge found out that Snipes had violated Florida open records laws by failing to quickly provide voting records for attorneys for Scott's Senate campaign.

"This is a case of counting votes," said Scott lawyer Jordan Zimmerman. "This is simply public information to the public is entitled to."

Snipes, 68, native of Talladega, Alabama, moved to Broward County in 1964 to begin what has become a long career as an educator. She eventually became a director of the public school system, leading principals from 16 schools, according to the supervisor's office web site.

In 2003 Bush appointed her to the supervisor's position after her predecessor, Miriam Oliphant, was removed from office because of numerous problems in the 2002 primary election.

Now Bush is calling for snipes to be removed after the ongoing recount.

Scott has not commented on whether he would take such a step. However, in his country, eight years ago governor, Scott has only been suspended when they are charged with crimes.

Snipes remains a target of Trump and other Republicans, including a cadre of protesters who have sometimes broken into songs of "lock her up," because of their claims to the elections for the Senate and governor to the Democrats. Scott has a slim lead over Nelson and Republican Ron DeSantis is ahead of Democrat Andrew Gillum for governor.

Expert Elections, however, say it is not unusual for a contested or "blue" Democratic counties like Broward to mainly support that party.

"It is no surprise that Democrats gain votes later in the counting process because of big cities tend to contain lots of democratic votes, and given their population," said Richard Hasen, law professor at the University of California-Irvine and Author of Books on Election Controversies, in an opinion article Monday in Slate.

"Although nerve-wracking, there's nothing at all about this protracted counting," he added.

Snipes' attorney, Eugene Pettis, said "people are going to scream fraud no matter what" and that the Broward process is moving forward in an orderly fashion. Snipes insists Broward will meet the Thursday deadline for the State Department.

"It takes time to go through it." It should not be missed on the face of the law. "Pettis said.

Associated Press video reporter Josh Replogle and writer Terry Spencer in Fort Lauderdale Contributed to this report.

Follow Curt Anderson on Twitter: http: //[email protected]

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