Director, Commonwealth Policy Center

Florida is once again the center of national attention over election results. Seats for Florida governor and U.S. Senator at stake. Republicans are ahead in vote counts by razor thin margins but actions by Broward County Supervisor of Elections, Brenda Snipes, casts doubt on recount efforts. Last week, a court found Snipes was guilty of failing to provide mandatory updates to the public. And the Miami Herald reported that an election worker found bags of “uncounted early ballots” in the Broward County office, whose origin could not be established. Snipes then mixed together rejected ballots with accepted absentee ballots. This is so troubling because in order for us to have faith in our elected leaders we must have certainty that the election process is fair. And when it’s in doubt, we all suffer regardless of political affiliation.