President Trump on Wednesday called for Broward County, Florida, Supervisor of Elections Brenda Snipes to be removed from office amid controversy over her handling of votes in this year’s midterm elections.
“You look at her past, she’s a disaster,” Trump told The Daily Caller in an interview.
“She should have been removed — I think she should have been removed in the middle of this mix-up,” the president added.
{mosads}Trump suggested in his interview with The Daily Caller that Republicans don’t win elections in some cases because of “potentially illegal votes,” and claimed that people vote multiple times by changing their clothes and then “come in and vote again.” There is no evidence to support either of Trump’s assertions.
Trump also pressed for voter ID laws, saying that it prevents illegal voting.
“If you buy a box of cereal — you have a voter ID,” Trump falsely claimed in the interview. “They try to shame everybody by calling them racist, or calling them something, anything they can think of, when you say you want voter ID. But voter ID is a very important thing.”
The president and Gov. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), whose tight Senate race with Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) is at the center of the criticism aimed at Snipes, have vilified the elections supervisor in recent days and floated claims that rampant voter fraud took place in Broward County. They have offered no evidence to back those claims.
The president, Scott and some other Republicans have made unfounded claims in recent days that Democrats are attempting to “steal” the Florida Senate election by continuing to count votes after Election Day. Trump asserted again to The Daily Caller that the race should have been called last Tuesday night, despite many races across the nation not being called for a number of days.
Florida law enforcement has said it has not found credible evidence of fraud during the state’s elections last week.
Scott ignored a question in D.C. on Wednesday during a photo op with other freshman senators about his claims of voter fraud. He has filed multiple lawsuits targeting Broward and Palm Beach counties over their handling of ballots.
On Monday, Scott dodged questions about why he did not remove Snipes during his tenure as governor, given her record of Election Day mishaps in the past.
The Sun Sentinel reported that Snipes improperly destroyed ballots 12 months after the 2016 election rather than 22 months after, as required by federal law. In 2012, roughly 1,000 uncounted ballots were discovered in Broward County a week after the election, according to the news outlet.
Scott suggested his power to remove Snipes was limited, even though Snipes was appointed after former Gov. Jeb Bush (R) removed her predecessor, Miriam Oliphant, over accusations of mishandling the 2002 gubernatorial primary in Broward County.
A recount in the Florida Senate and gubernatorial races is ongoing.