Embattled Broward County elections supervisor reportedly resigns

Brenda Snipes and an unidentified elections official. — (Image credit: Joe Skipper/Getty Images)

Following the recent Senate race recount, the elections supervisor of Broward County, Florida, has submitted her resignation letter, The Sun-Sentinel reports.

Brenda Snipes has spent 15 years as the supervisor of elections, and during the election earlier this month, faced criticism from Republican Gov. Rick Scott for taking longer than other counties to finish the initial counting of ballots. Scott was the GOP candidate against incumbent Sen. Bill Nelson, and without providing any evidence, wanted the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to investigate what "may be rampant voter fraud" in the county.

After counting the ballots, Scott had a lead of about 12,000 votes over Nelson, which by law triggered a recount. After a machine recount and then a hand recount that was ordered Thursday, the final vote tallies were submitted to the state on Sunday, and Nelson conceded. The Sun-Sentinel reports that Broward County made many errors after Election Day, including losing 2,040 ballots between the initial count and the recount and not updating results as frequently as the law requires.

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Snipes has been criticized during previous elections as well for long lines and destroying ballots before being legally allowed to do so. Snipes did not respond to The Sun-Sentinel's request for comment, but Burnadette Norris-Weeks, counsel to the Supervisor of Elections Office, told the newspaper that she saw an early version of the resignation letter, and Snipes says she wants to spend more time with her family. She believes the resignation is effective Jan. 2, 2019. A Democrat, Snipes was appointed in 2003 by former Republican Gov. Jeb Bush, then elected in 2004.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.