A clash between the state Republican party and Broward County’s elections office over the handling of absentee ballots was settled Wednesday night only hours after it began.
At issue: whether Broward Supervisor of Elections Brenda C. Snipes had broken the law by opening scores of mail-in ballots in private, and without the supervision of a canvassing board appointed to oversee and certify elections.
Snipes — whose office has dealt with a series of mishaps and complications this election cycle — received a letter Wednesday afternoon from Republican state party chairman Blaise Ingoglia alleging the elections department had illegally processed and opened scores of the more than 153,000 ballots that have been cast by mail so far in Broward.
Ingoglia said Snipes had erred by failing to convene Broward’s canvassing board while opening “tens of thousands” of absentee ballots, and by denying the public potential opportunities to contest problematic ballots.
“These illegal actions must stop immediately,” he wrote. “The Republican Party of Florida is prepared to take all necessary legal actions to ensure that Broward County conducts its election in compliance with the law.”
Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/broward/article112183717.html#storylink=cpy
At issue: whether Broward Supervisor of Elections Brenda C. Snipes had broken the law by opening scores of mail-in ballots in private, and without the supervision of a canvassing board appointed to oversee and certify elections.
Snipes — whose office has dealt with a series of mishaps and complications this election cycle — received a letter Wednesday afternoon from Republican state party chairman Blaise Ingoglia alleging the elections department had illegally processed and opened scores of the more than 153,000 ballots that have been cast by mail so far in Broward.
Ingoglia said Snipes had erred by failing to convene Broward’s canvassing board while opening “tens of thousands” of absentee ballots, and by denying the public potential opportunities to contest problematic ballots.
“These illegal actions must stop immediately,” he wrote. “The Republican Party of Florida is prepared to take all necessary legal actions to ensure that Broward County conducts its election in compliance with the law.”
Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/broward/article112183717.html#storylink=cpy
