Brenda Snipes is unpopular. Really, really unpopular.
In the last week alone, the election supervisor for Broward County has been called out by governors and sitting senators and the president of the United States. And since that criticism has come overwhelmingly from the Right it is easy to forget the real rage boiling under the surface on the Left.
While Republicans are suspicious that Snipes may be trying to steal Gov. Rick Scott’s Senate seat, Democrats are furious with her all but handing it to him.
Poor ballot design in Broward has led to massive undervoting, a situation that stymied turnout for the Left. Snipes didn’t notice that the race for senator was listed under an instruction column and plenty of voters may not have either. They just missed it. All told, around 25,000 voters filled out their ballots for every race except the Senate contest, and that may be why. It’s a major unforced error that could explain Scott’s entire victory margin, and it’s all the fault of a Democratic official in a Democratic stronghold.
Rather than pile on with Republicans though, Democrats have mostly bitten their tongues. Attacking Snipes is counterproductive right now while the hopes of incumbent Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., hinge on the recount. But when he officially loses, for a hot second, Snipes will be the most hated woman in America.
It will be rough. For instance, comedians don’t normally pass judgement on election supervisors elected at the county level. When they do, something has gone wrong. Trevor Noah, the funnyman who hosts Comedy Central’s “the Daily Show,” ripped Snipes for “doing a great job of screwing up people’s votes.”
