Two weeks ago we reported on Broward County elections supervisor Brenda Snipes resignation. She just changed her mind.
Gov. Rick Scott late Friday suspended embattled Broward County Supervisor of Elections Brenda Snipes even though Snipes had already agreed to step down from her post in early January. Scott replaced Snipes with his former general counsel even though Peter Antonacci has no elections experience.
Snipes responded by rescinding her previous resignation – and will now be “fighting this to the very end,” her attorney said during a Saturday news conference.
Why Now?
Snipes is now refusing to resign and says she’ll fight to keep the job. I’m not familiar with how that works in Florida, but what she can do.
In his executive order, Scott said he was suspending Snipes due to misfeasance, incompetence and neglect of duty. His order cited problems during the recount, including reports of more than 2,000 ballots being misplaced. She also came under fire in 2017 after she destroyed year-old ballots in violation of law. Shortly after the recount started, Scott himself suggested possible fraud, but never offered any concrete examples.
I’m not sure what Scott gains by pushing her out a month early expect a legal challenge that gives her free earned media and a place to grind her ax.