Informing Democracy conducted public record reviews of State Attorneys, Supervisors of Elections, and County Canvassing Board members in Florida to identify whether any past behavior raises concerns about their commitment to fair vote counting and election certification. We looked for statements or actions that indicated election denial, attempts to subvert election administration or undermine faith in the system, belief in election conspiracies, and other anti-democracy sentiment.
Concerning findings do not mean an official will seek to undermine the next election, just as a lack of findings is not a guarantee an official will faithfully execute their duties. This research provides guidance on where attention should be focused to ensure that elections are administered properly according to the law. Notably, research showed that the vast majority of local election officials are dedicated public servants, committed to running free and fair elections.
Of Florida’s 234 State Attorneys, Supervisors of Elections, and County Canvassing Board members whose news appearances, social media, and votes were reviewed, research identified concerning findings in the backgrounds of 16 officials, or roughly 7%.
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By the numbers: 7% of officials reviewed exhibited concerning behavior.
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Note: Florida County Canvassing Boards are typically composed of the county’s Supervisor of Elections, a County Court Judge, and the Chair of the Board of County Commissioners. However, Canvassing Board members may be replaced if they are actively running for reelection or publicly supporting a political campaign. We have vetted all November 2024 County Canvassing Board members, including relevant replacements. In cases where the Supervisor of Elections has been replaced on the Canvassing Board, we have vetted both the original Supervisor and their replacement.
Research identified four County Canvassing Board members, across four counties, who publicly questioned the results of the 2020 election or perpetuated claims of widespread fraud throughout our electoral system undermining election outcomes. This election denial ranged from sharing conspiracy theories about fake ballots being counted to outright claims the election was stolen or rigged. For example, Holmes County Commissioner and Canvassing Board member Brandon Newsom posted an election denial meme stating, “gas prices shooting up faster than a Biden vote count at 2am.” Similarly, in December 2020 Glade County Commissioner and Canvassing Board member Hattie Taylor posted a TikTok video of herself praising Donald Trump, captioning the video “#DontGiveUp #ItAintOver.” Manatee County Supervisor of Elections James Satcher, in addition to spreading election denial claims, repeatedly retweeted content calling on senators to “OBJECT To This Fraudulent Election” in the days leading up to January 6, 2021. Satcher also reposted a Tweet stating, “All right, libs. We see your ‘15 days to slow the spread,’ and we raise you ‘10 days to slow the certification.” It should be noted that Satcher will not be sitting on the Manatee County Canvassing Board for the November 2024 election, although he will be still be serving in an advisory role.
An additional six County Canvassing Board members expressed skepticism regarding election outcomes or approved election processes without cause, while not denying the results of the 2020 election outright. For example, Baker County Supervisor of Elections Chris Milton declared, “I can’t control what happens elsewhere, but I will diligently work to maintain the trust of Baker County voters that their votes are accurately counted here and that our elections are accessible to every registered voter. The bottom line is we’ve been doing it right and we are going to continue to do it right in Baker County.” Citrus County’s Rebecca Bays similarly believed in irregularities in the 2020 election, even as she stated, “I have not seen sufficient evidence to support that the election was stolen.”
Election conspiracies continue to flourish in the election denial and election skeptic space. Overall, we identified seven Supervisors of Elections and Canvassing Board members who have spread election conspiracy theories. On November 7, 2020, Walton County Commissioner Danny Glidewell posted “Don’t panic or give up, in 2000 it took 36 days to get the election straight. If this had been up to the media, the election would have been over a year ago.” As early as 2016, Okeechobee County Judge and Canvassing Board member William Wallace accused the media of “trying to alter [election results] instead of reporting,” writing, “Is all the news coverage avoiding mentioning Georgia on popular vote electoral vote?”
The vast majority of Florida’s election administrators are dedicated public servants who have sought to make sure no voter is disenfranchised. In fact, a number of election officials from both parties have gone out of their way to praise Florida’s election security and criticize attempts to undermine voter confidence. For example, Collier County Supervisor of Elections Melissa Blazier penned a letter opposing the “Collier County Resolution for a Legally Valid 2024 General Election,” a resolution introduced at the behest of United Sovereign Americans perpetuating unsubstantiated claims of election irregularity. Similarly, Lafayette County Supervisor of Elections Travis Hart assured constituents that “Florida voters can be absolutely confident our election was safe, secure and 100% accurate.” Putnam County Commissioner Leota Wilkinson even said her experiences on the county’s Canvassing Board had made her more confident in the election processes, saying, “I think that Florida has one of the best laws in the country on election integrity. I thought it before, and now that I've been here, I agree with it. I think that we're way up there compared to the other states. And being here watching everything happening, I was impressed.”