WEST PALM BEACH (970 WFLA) -- Governor Ron DeSantis has suspended Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Susan Bucher from office. He says there were so many screw-ups during the November election and the recounts that followed that he had to do something
"They've truly been the Keystone Cops of elections administration," DeSantis said. Palm Beach did not complete a state mandated recount until 50 days after the election.
Bucher blamed problems on old machines that could only conduct one recount at a time. The Governor, Senate and Agriculture Commissioner races all went to recounts. Bucher had money set aside to buy new equipment but decided not to buy it for 2018 because, she said, the hardware would be invalid for 2020.
DeSantis is replacing Democrat Bucher with Republican Wendy Link. Florida Democrats are calling his move a power grab. Bucher is expected to appeal her dismissal to the Senate.
Meantime, DeSantis says he's accepting the earlier resignation of Broward elections boss Brenda Snipes. That allows her to claim her benefits and ends the battle triggered when former governor (now Senator) Rick Scott sacked Snipes following her resignation. DeSantis says he doesn't want to fight over the past and would rather concentrate on making sure election issues are not repeated.
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