Broward County, Florida’s elections supervisor accidentally mixed more than a dozen rejected ballots with nearly 200 valid ones, a circumstance that is unlikely to help Brenda Snipes push back against Republican allegations of incompetence, the Miami Herald reported.
Incumbent U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) is locked in a virtual dead heat with Republican challenger Gov. Rick Scott. Scott’s lead shrunk to 12,562 votes out of nearly 8.2 million cast, a 0.15 percent margin, The Washington Post said.
President Donald Trump’s reaction to the situation was: “Trying to STEAL two big elections in Florida! We are watching closely!”
Trying to STEAL two big elections in Florida! We are watching closely!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 10, 2018
The mistake – for which no one had a solution Friday night – was discovered after Snipes agreed to present 205 provisional ballots to the Broward County canvassing board for inspection. She had initially intended to handle the ballots administratively, but agreed to present them to the canvassing board after Republican attorneys objected.
America Rising raised concerns about Snipes’ competence, saying, “It’s important to note past criticism of the official at the helm of this process there. As recently as June 2018, The Sun Sentinel Editorial Board pointed to valid concerns with Brenda Snipes’ leadership at the Broward County Supervisor of Elections Office. They went so far as to call on her to not seek another term due to her incompetence.
The Sun Sentinel Editorial Board said, with a headline of ‘Brenda Snipes’ Credibility Past Tipping Point’: “Snipes’ recent problems include results being too early and too late, and several mistakes with ballots in 2016. Snipes ordered the Canova-Wasserman Schultz ballots destroyed 12 months after the election, even though federal and state laws require preservation for 22 months. Snipes did so even though a lawsuit over the ballots was pending. She called it a mistake…Florida’s second-largest county deserves better.”
America Rising said, “Instead of being concerned with this blatant error, Bill Nelson’s lawyer is telling the press that the GOP is trying to throw out all the votes and saying the Supervisor of Election’s error should be ignored and they should all be counted regardless of whether or not they are valid. It’s becoming increasingly harder for Bill Nelson and Florida Democrats’ to claim that there is nothing nefarious going on.”
https://twitter.com/marceelias/status/1061107643048251392
https://twitter.com/marceelias/status/1061248953839247361
Elias, Nelson’s lawyer, is as Democratic as one gets. Elias, the general counsel for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, and a top Democratic lawyer who has also worked with other top Democratic politicians for years, is accused of helping orchestrate funding from the campaign to the research firm Fusion GPS that helped pay for the infamous anti-Trump dossier, Heavy.com said. The dossier launched unverified and salacious allegations about the president into the public debate, ranging from Russian collusion to so-called “golden showers.”
