Posted on 11/12/2018 6:48:53 AM PST by Kaslin
Another critical election. Another electoral failure in Florida. Another vote counting disaster in Broward County.
Some Americans suspect fraud, indeed Broward County looks like a banana republic. The latest ballot debacle may be a result of carelessness or incompetence, rather than fraud. But election officials unable to do their job just invite abuse.
A botched vote undermines confidence in American democracy. There is no more vital act for a citizen than to elect his or her local, state and national leaders.
Voters expect only those who are legally eligible to cast ballots. Which in turn will be counted accurately and quickly. This sets a genuine republic apart from fraudulent “people’s republics.”
In 2000 just a few hundred votes separated the two presidential candidates in Florida and chaos ensued. The American Civil Rights Union (ACRU) filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court that helped guide its decision to force election officials to follow the law.
Yet 18 years later the state’s electoral process remains broken. The current Broward supervisor of elections, Brenda Snipes, was appointed in 2003 to fix an office beset with problems—the year before it failed to open the polls on time. Yet Snipes has done little better. A former elections inspector, Benjamin Bennett, complained that “Every election there is a snafu of some type.” Noted the Naples News: “it’s not unusual for Democrat Brenda Snipes, the head of Broward County’s election office, to find herself facing questions about bungled elections.”
In the 2004 presidential election thousands of Broward absentee ballots disappeared. Her office transported them in private cars without observers and opened absentee ballots in private. Two years ago, the office was placed under state supervision after it violated both state and federal law by destroying ballots subject to a lawsuit.
Even the New York Times admitted: “her office has been criticized for a litany of problems. Elections employees were found to have unlawfully destroyed counted ballots in a congressional race in 2016. Absentee ballots were opened before cleared by the canvassing board. A constitutional amendment was left off some ballots. In 2016, Broward’s software vendor posted election results online early.”
There was a problem sending out absentee ballots this year. After the election, Snipes was unable to say how many ballots remained to be counted. Three days after the election her office had not even counted all “early” votes. Her office opened provisional ballots without approval by the canvassing board and mixed valid and invalid provisional ballots. In a suit filed by Republican Senate candidate Rick Scott a Florida court found that the election supervisor violated the state constitution and law by failing to release information on the count.
Incredibly, there are more registered than eligible voters in Broward. Despite the requirements of both state and federal law, Snipes’ office failed to keep an accurate list, by not dropping the names of people who moved or died, and not preventing people who are ineligible, especially noncitizens, from registering. The ACRU’s 2016 lawsuit to hold the county accountable, ACRU v. Dr. Brenda Snipes, is now before the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Snipes’ response: “Broward is nitpicked to the bone.”
Former Democratic county official Lori Parrish blamed “incompetence” since, she explained: “To do fraud, you have to be clever.” But given Broward’s record, who can blame people for fearing that “votes” are being created out of nothing?
It’s hard to know how many ballots are improperly cast when Democrats and their political allies resist every attempt to improve election security. Even a few votes cast mistakenly or fraudulently can change the results: in Florida recounts have been ordered for both the Senate and gubernatorial contests as well as the commissioner of agriculture (in which the Democrat is slightly ahead).
Americans should be able to count on the integrity of their democratic process. The impact of Florida’s failure is not limited to the state. Unfortunately, the chaos in Broward affects all Americans. Other nations must wonder how the U.S. can push democracy abroad when it seems incapable of counting votes at home.
Election controversies hurt all Americans. Fixing the system should be a bipartisan priority.
Author Ken Blackwell is horribly naive.
“Another vote counting disaster in Broward County.” - Hardly. It is by design.
“The latest ballot debacle may be a result of carelessness or incompetence” - No, by design.
“The state’s electoral process remains broken.” - No it doesn’t. Democrats have no interest in fair elections.
“Incredibly, there are more registered than eligible voters in Broward.” - There’s nothing “incredible” about it. Democrats won’t purge voter rolls simply so they can cheat.
This woman has been doing this since Yeb! appointed her.
How many years and how many elections while Scott has been Governor?
She was caught illegally destroying ballots in 2016.
Unless there is action taken by someone nothing will change.
Why are they letting people who have already broken the law in this election continue to handle ballots? LE needs to move in and remove every one of these people and others who know what the hell they are doing need to be brought in BEFORE Broward announces Nelson (and Gillum) have won. How do they expect us to just accept what they have done?
The system is broken. Has been obviously broken since 2000. You could say it was broken in 1960. Or before. But now there is no hiding it. In 2018, the Democrats have not even been subtle about it.
Will the GOP do something about it? We have Trump. We have a new AG. We have a lot of power at the state level where election procedures are mostly controlled. If we do nothing, it’s just surrender.
Like I say, Scott or someone in authority needs to put and end to this. Scott may not like the optics but the optics won’t be better when Snipes claims Scott is losing.
Wadja expect from the DEMS led by Nancy?
Speaking of Nancy and what she is/came from:
Nancy Pelosi’s father Thomas D’Alesandro Jr. allegedly was a “constant companion” of notorious mobster Benjamin “Benny Trotta” Magliano and other underworld figures during his political years in Baltimore, MD.
Dug up a bit of history to find that Pelosi’s own father, Thomas D’Alesandro, Jr., dedicated a statue to Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee when he was the mayor of Baltimore.
Pelosi’s father was well-known in Little Italy, and went on to become a Baltimore legend. When she was seven years old, he became the city’s first Italian-American mayor.
He served three terms, and so Pelosi was known as the mayor’s daughter for most of her childhood and teens. She often worked on his campaigns, as did her five brothers.
In 1952, when Pelosi was just twelve years old, she was allowed to attend her first Democratic National Convention, where delegates choose their party’s presidential candidate.
Snipes should have been dealt with years ago.
Destroying ballots in 2016 was sufficient reason to remove her.
Even though I have stated they should all be removed from the premises I fully know that any effort to do so will precipitate riots that destroy the county. OTOH, the County needs to realize that when they try to give this election to Nelson (an Gillum) WE will destroy that county.
“Some Americans suspect fraud, indeed Broward County looks like a banana republic.”
That’s an insult to banana republics!!!!
Now if wrote “...looks like C(r)ook County”, then he would be spot on.
Fox news is no better, but they are approaching it differently. This morning they had some idiot segment about a picture of a baby holding a rifle, inspired by a well-known Christmas movie. Fox's line was that there was outrage over the photo, but when they had the baby's mother and the photographer on they both claimed the complaints were very minor. For some reason as well FOX is downplaying the seriousness of the California fires, not mentioning the deaths, only claiming that people are missing. Drudge this morning states that there are 31 fatalities and over 200 people missing!
We are way further into this coming period of civil instability than almost everyone is willing to face. The Broward election debacle is not incompetence, it is outright stealing of an election. Similar actions are taking place in at least Palm Beach County, and Wisconsin and California as well, at a minimum. This is a revolution and they are using our own laws to overthrow us. As long as provisional ballots can be cleared at the local level we will have very little recourse. These people are fighting for socialism and the right to kill babies, even babies who are viable out of the womb. The California fire rates this year are astronomical compared to previous years. We are facing people with no conscience or integrity, yet we pretend it isn't happening and cling to hope that somehow Trump will fix this. I think, honestly, we may have gone past that point. What do you think will happen to you and your children when the radical Left Democrats take over? As you can see, there is no law left in Broward County. Do you think these shootings are really random? This is a very dangerous enemy we are facing. It's time to get serious about what is happening in this country.
Allowing people to register to vote and the DMV and the creation of “provisional ballots” has been our undoing. The people who created these monsters knew exactly what they were unleashing and they did it under guise of “greater civic engagement” and “ending disenfranchisement of minorities.”
The colonies and the U.S. got along without these methods of vote fraud for centuries. Leftists have carefully and methodically engineered the demise of U.S. elections (ergo, the U.S. itself) by creating new ways to cheat.
Is it really so much of a burden to expect a free people to get registered to vote in advance of the election and show up at the polling place to vote in person on election day? Making it easier for people to register and vote (out of “compassion”) has destroyed the integrity of the elections.
Attempts to obfuscate the generation of fake ballots behind a mask of incompetence worn by a director adept at using charges of racism to turn away criticism are organized crime, and can hardly be characterized as "snafus."
How many times have your heard about ballots being found that pulled out an election for a republican?
It is bad enough to lose with real votes....it is unacceptable to lose by fraudulent ‘votes’....the demonrats show their true character all the time ....every day...
America deserves what they voted for.
“Fixing the system should be a bipartisan priority.”
Like rats want it fixed? LOLOLOLOL! This writer is a maroon! America deserves better.
Not naieve. Hard to appear in court claiming to be interested in fairness and justice when you’ve publicly stated what we (Ken included) already know. Broward is a cesspool intent on corrupting our political process and that the people in charge there are interested in disenfranchising everyone they can.
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