Yesterday, Brenda Snipes, former Broward County Supervisor of Elections in Florida, filed a federal lawsuit against outgoing Governor Rick Scott and Florida Senate President Bill Galvano. In the lawsuit, Snipes seeks declaratory and injunctive relief, claiming executive suspensions are unconstitutional under the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and an injunction allowing her to resume duties as an elected official and reimbursement for all back pay that has been withheld since her suspension date.

Additionally, Brenda Snipes is claiming that her Due Process rights were violated by Governor Scott’s issuance of Executive Order 18-342 on November 30, 2018, which outlined and resulted in the suspension of Snipes, after detailing her many failures during the 2018 and previous election cycles.

WHEREAS, it is in the best interests of the residents of Broward County, and the citizens of the State of Florida, that Supervisor Snipes be immediately suspended from the public office, which she now holds;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, RICK SCOTT, Governor of Florida, pursuant to the Constitution and the laws of the State of Florida, do hereby find, determine, and for the purposes of Article IV, section 7, of the Florida Constitution, allege as follows:

. . . 

C.    The actions and omissions of Brenda Snipes references above constitute misfeasance, incompetence, neglect of duty – or all of these – for the purposes of Article IV, section 7, of the Florida Constitution.

. . .

Section 1.   Brenda Snipes is hereby suspended from the public office that she now holds, to wit: Supervisor of Election for Broward County, Florida.

The Executive Order came after Brenda Snipes submitted her resignation, which was to take effect January 4, 2019, on Sunday, November 18, 2018, just hours after Broward County finalized their recount numbers. In a statement regarding the Executive Order, Governor Scott stated:

After a series of inexcusable actions, it’s clear that there needs to be an immediate change in Broward County and taxpayers should no longer be burdened by paying a salary for a supervisor of elections who has already announced resignation.

But, in true Brenda Snipes fashion, she decided to take back her resignation after Governor Scott issued the Executive Order, hence the reason for the federal lawsuit. Her attorney claims that they will be “fighting this to the every end.”

Brenda Snipes' history of meddling in elections as the Supervisor of Elections in Broward County, Florida extends long before 2018. She has been the subject of multiple lawsuits which have previously outlined her incompetence and negligence. By the actions of Governor Scott and the support of incoming Governor Ron DeSantis, competence, effectiveness, and trust in the supervision of elections in Broward County can be restored.