Brenda Snipes, the elections supervisor for Broward County, Florida, who resigned after coming under scrutiny for the way her office handled vote counting during the November 6 election, will receive nearly $130,000 in annual pensions once she leaves office in January, according to reports.
Snipes, 75, already receives a pension of more than $58,000 from her time as an educator and is poised to collect another $71,000 for 15 years as an elected official, the Sun-Sentinel reported.
“Although I have enjoyed this work tremendously over these many election cycles, both large and small, I am ready to pass the torch,” Snipes wrote in her resignation letter to Republican Gov. Rick Scott. “Therefore, I request that you accept my letter of resignation effective January 4, 2019.”
Her resignation came amid heavy criticism for her office’s handling of the recount of a Senate race between incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson and Scott, who was declared the winner.
(Scott was not allowed to seek re-election as governor because of the state’s term-limit laws.)
Broward County failed to turn in the recount results by the state’s deadline, lost thousands of ballots and opened 205 provisional early-voting ballots before their validity was determined.
“It really raises the question, on top of everything else, why she’s being excessively compensated for doing a poor job. That’s the added insult to injury,” said Dominic Calabro, president and CEO of Florida TaxWatch, a nonprofit, nonpartisan government watchdog group based in Tallahassee.
“It really raises the question, on top of everything else, why she’s being excessively compensated for doing a poor job. That’s the added insult to injury.”
Republicans from former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who appointed Snipes in 2003, to Sen. Marco Rubio and Scott called for her to resign. President Trump said she should be fired.
Snipes was also found to have destroyed ballots in Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s 2016 Democratic primary race against Tim Canova.
Once she walks away from her $178,865-a-year-job, Snipes will be eligible for cost-of-living increases averaging between 2 and 3 percent.
The average annual pension for elected officials in the state’s retirement plan for last year was $53,223, the paper reported.
“While she’s entitled to it, a lot of Floridians are resentful of it,” Calabro said.
Snipes was also found to have destroyed ballots in Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s 2016 Democratic primary race against Tim Canova.
On Tuesday, Trump trolled Snipes on Twitter after a photo of her with dozens of “I Voted” stickers on her face and clothing began circulating on social media.
“Brenda Snipes, in charge of voting in Broward County, Florida, was just spotted wearing a beautiful dress with 300 I VOTED signs on it,” Trump tweeted.
“Just kidding, she is a fine, very honorable and highly respected voting tactician!”
This Fox News piece is used by permission.
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