YIKES

Brenda Snipes, Former Broward County Elections Chief, Asks Florida Judge to Reinstate Her

A lawyer for the former Broward County elections chief argued that Gov. Rick Scott tried to “tar” her reputation with false allegations.

A lawyer for former Florida elections chief Brenda Snipes asked a federal court judge to reinstate her on Monday, claiming that Gov. Rick Scott had tried to “tar” Snipes with false allegations of incompetence, the Orlando Sentinel reports. Attorney Burnadette Norris-Weeks disputed the list of alleged transgressions put out by the governor in an executive order that effectively suspended Snipes, the former supervisor of elections in Tallahassee’s Broward County. “We believe it was a targeted action on behalf of the governor to tar her and embarrass her,” he said during Monday's two-hour hearing, referring to allegations that Snipes released election results before polls closed and failed to follow state election laws. “She’s respected throughout the state ... she’s somebody that other supervisors come to seek guidance.” According to the Sentinel, Scott’s attorney said “the governor determined the people of Broward County deserved a supervisor of elections who can organize and prepare elections in a competent manner…Citizens of Broward County are voting soon and the public interest does not support [reinstating Snipes].”

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