Seminole County Commission chair raises concerns about elections supervisor
The chair of the Seminole County Commission claims the elections supervisor is not doing his job, and he wants the governor's office and the secretary of state to investigate the office of Supervisor Chris Anderson.
“Well I think certain county commissioners are using the professional or their official positions to play politics,” Anderson said Thursday.
He says a new attack by the chair of the Seminole County Commission, Jay Zembower, is just the latest in what Anderson sees as a relentless assault on his office and his integrity.
Zembower sent a letter to the governor and secretary of state claiming the elections office “is plagued by a toxic and hostile work environment.”
Anderson strongly disagrees with that assessment and says his office is operating smoothly.
Commissioner Amy Lockhart brought up similar concerns about Anderson in an October letter to the governor following claims Anderson made in September that Anderson and his wife have been targets of racial profiling and discrimination by some officials.
Anderson says this latest complaint from Zembower is unwarranted.
“That is grossly unethical, and it’s wrong on many different levels. I mean, they quite frankly are embarrassing themselves," Anderson said.
Among Zembower’s concerns is that some voters received mail ballots with a transparent window on the envelope showing a voter’s party affiliation.
State law (F.S. 101,64) says, “A mailing envelope or secrecy envelope may not bear an indication of the political affiliation of an absent elector.”
Anderson says the concern by Zembower is invalid, arguing it is not a violation of Florida law because the party affiliation was not on the mailing envelope or secrecy envelope.
Anderson says a correction was made for the remainder of mail ballots sent for this week's primary election to ease voter concerns.
Zembower included in his letter to the state a sample ballot with the wrong date for the deadline to request a vote-by-mail ballot.
The deadline was March 7.
The sample ballot said it was March 9.
“That was an error in this office," Anderson said.
The chair cited some tricks for the public to navigate the elections website, especially to find the canvassing board info, claiming it took a couple of extra clicks.
Thursday, WESH 2 News found a link to canvassing board information on the homepage.
“We cannot be transparent enough and we should aggressively respond to voters concerns. If it’s misinformation, then state such with facts. If there is some credible concern, address it. We owe it to our voters," Zembower said in a statement sent to WESH 2 News.
As a result of the commissioner's concerns brought to the state's attention, officers with the Division of Elections observed the October municipal elections and Tuesday’s primary.
Anderson showed WESH 2 News a checklist of items and activities observed by the state officers, but the Department of State did not respond to our request for an assessment of how the election was conducted.
The governor's office also did not respond to our email requesting comment on Zembower's letter.
The bottom line from Anderson is this: He’s doing his job, and if voters don’t like it, they have options this election year to replace him.
Before this week's elections, WESH 2 News brought you the story of Anderson publicly endorsing former President Donald Trump, which was something else raised as a concern by Zembower.
Top headlines: