Brenda Snipes facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Brenda Snipes
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| Broward County Supervisor of Elections | |
| In office November 20, 2003 – November 30, 2018 |
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| Appointed by | Jeb Bush |
| Preceded by | Miriam Oliphant |
| Succeeded by | Peter Antonacci |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Brenda Calhoun
October 24, 1943 Talladega, Alabama |
| Died | November 2, 2023 (aged 80) Pembroke Park, Florida |
| Alma mater | Talladega College (BA) Florida Atlantic University (MA) Nova Southeastern University (DEd) |
Brenda Calhoun Snipes (October 24, 1943 – November 2, 2023) was an American government official. She was in charge of elections for Broward County, Florida. Governor Jeb Bush chose her for this job in 2003. Snipes was a member of the Democratic Party.
After some issues in the 2018 Florida elections, Governor Rick Scott removed Snipes from her job on November 30, 2018. Scott said she failed to keep her office organized. He also mentioned complaints about her not doing her job properly. The next day, Snipes said she would fight this decision.
On January 18, 2019, the new Governor, Ron DeSantis, canceled Scott's decision. He then accepted Snipes' earlier resignation, which became official on January 4, 2019.
Contents
Early Life and School
Brenda Snipes was born in Talladega, Alabama. She studied modern foreign languages at Talladega College. In 1964, she moved to Florida with her husband, Walter Snipes Jr.
She earned a master's degree from Florida Atlantic University. Later, she received a doctorate in education from Nova Southeastern University.
Career
Educator
In 1964, Snipes began teaching at Blanche Ely High School. This school is in Pompano Beach, Florida. She later became the principal of Robert Markham Elementary School. She stopped teaching in June 2003.
As Supervisor of Elections
On November 20, 2003, Governor Jeb Bush appointed Snipes. She became the Supervisor of Elections for Broward County. She took over from Miriam Oliphant. Oliphant was removed because of problems with how ballots were handled. Snipes was re-elected to this role in 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2016.
2004 General Elections
In the 2004 general election, many absentee ballots were lost. These ballots let people vote by mail. About 58,000 ballots were given to the Postal Service. But the Post Office said they never got them.
2012 Elections
About a week after the 2012 election, nearly 1,000 uncounted ballots were found. These ballots had not been included in the election results.
2016 Elections
Florida held its Democratic primary elections on August 30, 2016. Debbie Wasserman Schultz was running against Tim Canova. She wanted to keep her seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Wasserman Schultz won the primary election. She then won the general election and kept her job.
The election results were released 30 minutes before polls closed. Florida law says releasing results early is a serious crime. However, prosecutors said there wasn't enough proof that anyone meant to release the results early.
Later, a filmmaker named Lulu Friesdat wanted to see the ballots. She made several requests, but could not see them. Tim Canova also asked to examine the ballots. He filed a lawsuit to make Snipes allow this.
While the court case was happening, Snipes signed an order. This order allowed the destruction of 688 boxes of ballots. Two months later, the court found out the ballots had been destroyed. The judge ruled that Snipes had destroyed the ballots against the rules. Canova was awarded money for his lawyer's fees. Snipes' lawyer said a digital copy of every ballot was saved. They also said the destruction was not on purpose.
2018 General Elections
Elections were held on November 6, 2018. People voted for Governor, U.S. Senator, and U.S. Representatives.
Republican Ron DeSantis ran against Democrat Andrew Gillum for Governor. DeSantis was first said to be the winner. Gillum later accepted defeat after a final recount. This made DeSantis the Governor-elect.
Florida's Governor Rick Scott ran for the U.S. Senate. He ran against the current Senator, Bill Nelson. Nelson later accepted defeat to Scott after a recount.
During the August 2018 primary elections, a voting place was moved. It was inside a gated community. Voters complained that they had to show ID to security guards. This was needed to get through the gates. But Florida law does not require ID to vote. Voters were questioned, and some were turned away. Complaints were made to Snipes' office. But the problem was not fixed before the general elections.
The Thursday after the election, a teacher found a box. It was marked "provisional ballots." It was left at a school used for voting. The teacher reported it but did not touch it. A county official later said the box held voting equipment, not ballots. The Friday after the elections, the Canvassing Board found that 205 provisional ballots were already counted. The Board also found that 20 of these ballots were not valid. This was because their signatures did not match. But since the votes were already processed, the invalid votes could not be separated. All 205 votes stayed counted.
Florida law says election departments must release the total number of ballots counted. This should happen within 30 minutes of polls closing. This helps with checking the results. Six days after the election, the total number of ballots was not reported. The Election Department should also post current counts every 45 minutes. By the Friday after the election, there was still no declared winner in the U.S. Senate race. Votes were still being counted. As more votes were counted, they seemed to favor the Democratic candidate.
Rick Scott filed a lawsuit. He said Broward County was breaking the law. The judge agreed with Scott. The judge ordered Snipes to share the number of ballots counted. This included absentee, early, and election day votes. She also had to share how many ballots were still to be counted. Snipes did not follow this order.
Florida requires an automatic machine recount. This happens when results are very close. By the weekend after the election, the U.S. Senate race was so close that a recount started.
After the election, Governor Rick Scott asked the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to investigate. Scott made this request verbally. Because there was no written request, no investigation began.
On November 18, 2018, Scott was declared the winner. This was almost two weeks after election day. He officially became Senator-elect after Bill Nelson accepted defeat.
Removal from Office
On November 18, 2018, Snipes offered her resignation. It was to be effective January 4, 2019. This happened after Senator Bill Nelson accepted defeat the day before.
Florida Governor Rick Scott suspended Snipes on November 30, 2018. Scott's replacement, Ron DeSantis, accepted her resignation in 2019. Peter Antonacci was chosen by Scott to finish Snipes' term. A new Supervisor of Elections would be chosen by voters in November 2020. Joe Scott was elected to fill the seat.
Death
Brenda Snipes passed away on November 2, 2023. She died from an illness in Pembroke Park, Florida. She is survived by her husband Walter, her daughter Derrice, and two grandchildren.
See also
