Miriam Oliphant facts for kids

Miriam Oliphant was an important election official in Broward County, Florida. She was the Supervisor of Elections from January 2001. She won her election with over 65% of the votes. In November 2003, the Governor of Florida, Jeb Bush, suspended her. This happened because of serious problems found in her office.

Even though some people, including other politicians, agreed with the Governor's decision, many in the black community supported Oliphant. She was the only African American holding a county-wide office at that time. In 2005, the Florida Senate voted to support Governor Bush's decision to remove her.

Starting in Politics

Miriam Oliphant began her political career earlier. In 1991, Governor Lawton Chiles chose her to join the Broward County School Board. She later won two elections to keep her spot on the board. Alan Schreiber, who led the Public Defender's office in Broward County, helped her with her re-election campaigns. Oliphant had worked for Schreiber before as a witness coordinator.

Why She Was Removed

Government investigators looked into Miriam Oliphant's office. They found that her office had not done some very important jobs. It had also spent almost $1 million more than its budget.

Investigators also found that Oliphant fired many experienced staff members. She replaced them with friends and people she knew. These new hires were often less experienced, and some had no experience at all for their new roles. They were also paid much higher salaries.

For example, she hired a college admissions worker who did not even know what a primary election was. This person was put in charge of voter registration and absentee ballots. She also promoted a computer specialist she met in her building to a high position, even though he might not have been ready for it.

One decision that caused many questions was hiring a homeless man named Glen Davis. She met him at the same shelter where her sister stayed. Davis was given mail room duties. However, he failed to process over 300 absentee ballots for a 2002 primary election. Even with these problems, Oliphant gave Davis a $5,000 raise shortly before she was removed.

During the same 2002 primary election, Oliphant did not hire enough poll workers. This meant that voting places had to open late and close early. These issues were very upsetting to people in Broward County. They still remembered the problems from the 2000 Presidential Election.

In 2007, the Florida Elections Commission had originally fined Oliphant $55,000. They said she had "willfully and intentionally neglected her duties." However, the commission later dropped the fine. A judge agreed with Oliphant, who said she did not intentionally neglect her duties. The judge's decision was based on a different court ruling. That ruling said the Elections Commission could not fine officials just for neglecting duties. They had to show the officials intentionally broke laws.