Tim Canova Wants Scott to Remove Broward Elections Supervisor

Democrat-turned-Independent Tim Canova called on Gov. Rick Scott Thursday to suspend and replace Brenda Snipes, the Broward County supervisor of elections who illegally destroyed the paper ballots cast in his Aug. 30, 2016 primary against Congressional District 23 incumbent Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz. Canova lost the election, pulling 43 percent of the vote to Wasserman Schultz's 56 percent. 

Canova, a professor of law and public finance at Nova Southeastern University, said the Circuit Court, in granting him summary judgment in his lawsuit against Snipes, ruled May 11 that Snipes had broken a number of state and federal laws, including --

Federal and state laws requiring preservation of ballots in federal elections for 22 months. The federal statute is punishable by up to a year in prison.
Florida’s public records statute, which is punishable as a felony with 1-5 years in prison.
Florida law and court rules prohibiting the destruction of evidence in an ongoing lawsuit. Snipes concealed the destruction of evidence from the Court for more than two months.

The court also suggested the supervisor failed to meet the legal obligations of good faith imposed on custodians of record by continuing to litigate for eight months after revealing the ballot destruction. 

Said Canova, “Snipes has failed to perform the basic duties of an elections supervisor to preserve original ballots in accordance with state and federal laws. By continuing to litigate this matter with frivolous motions and expensive discovery, Snipes has added perhaps half a million dollars in legal fees that will ultimately be paid by Broward County taxpayers. 

"This appears to be a deliberate strategy to use taxpayer dollars to bleed me and my campaign of financial resources. It serves Snipes’ interest to remain in office with an annual salary of $177,628, her outside counsel’s interest in racking up even more legal fees, and Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s interest in diverting resources from my campaign.”

Canova, a Bernie Sanders progressive, is challenging Wasserman Schultz again this year, but this time not as a Democrat.