Latest news with #SupervisorofElectionsOffice
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Seminole OKs $150K settlement with former elections attorney Krapow who sued for defamation
Seminole County commissioners Tuesday unanimously approved a settlement to have the Supervisor of Elections Office pay its former general counsel $150,000 to drop it from a slander lawsuit. Commissioners agreed without comment as part of their meeting's consent agenda. They had to approve the agreement with Winter Springs attorney Phil Kaprow because the elections office was a defendant and the county oversees its budget. Kaprow said before the meeting he 'wouldn't be comfortable' commenting on the settlement due to 'ongoing litigation.' He referred questions to the Solomon Law Group in Tampa. He sued former Supervisor of Elections Chris Anderson and his wife for defamation in July after the couple posted a 55-minute video on social media in September 2023 that attacked his job performance and integrity. Anderson was still in office at the time. In the video, Anderson is wearing a Supervisor of Elections shirt and standing in front of the county office in Sanford as he railed against Kaprow and other county officials. The lawsuit claims the video drew 8 million viewers. The lawsuit also says the video 'ceaselessly, maliciously, and disrespectfully attacked, ridiculed, harangued, defamed and emasculated the Kaprows in a wholly inappropriate manner with the sole intent of bullying, attacking, intimidating, and tarnishing the Kaprows and each of them in their professions, businesses, religions and persons.' Kaprow spent three years as attorney for the elections office under Anderson until he resigned in September 2023 shortly after Anderson claimed in a separate series of social media posts that he had faced racism from county officials and Seminole Republican leaders since appointed to the job by Gov. Ron DeSantis in January 2019. Then in a heated November 2023 meeting, Anderson unsuccessfully sought to have Kaprow fired from the Seminole canvassing board. Anderson said he did not trust Kaprow on the board after he sent a letter about him to the Department of State. The letter claimed there appeared to be signs of 'incompetence' in the office under Anderson's leadership. Anderson, also a member of the canvassing board, said Kaprow's allegations were inaccurate. He pointed out that officials from the Division of Elections sent observers to monitor municipal elections and found no issues. Although commissioners approved the settlement for the elections office, the agreement states that neither Anderson nor his wife, Ebony, are released from the suit. 'The SOE [Supervisor of Elections office] shall cooperate with the Kaprows in their continued pursuit of claims against Mr. Anderson and Mrs. Anderson in the litigation,' according to the agreement. Anderson could not be reached for comment about the lawsuit. Anderson was defeated by Amy Pennock in the August 2024 Republican primary. She went on to defeat Democrat Deborah Poulalion in November to become supervisor of elections.
Yahoo
13-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
April 17 is deadline to request mail ballot for Haines City Commission runoff election. More detail
Haines City will hold a runoff election April 29 for a City Commission seat. The candidates who advanced to the runoff are Anne Huffman and Horace West. Registered voters in Haines City who wish to vote by mail must request ballots by April 17 at All mail ballots must be returned to the Supervisor of Elections Office by 7 p.m. on Election Day. Walk-in voting will take place April 21 through April 28 weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Bartow Election Headquarters, 250 S. Broadway Ave., and the Winter Haven Election Operations Center, 70 Florida Citrus Blvd. Polling locations will be open from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. on April 29. Incumbent Commissioner Huffman, seeking election to her third term, faces former Commissioner West in the runoff. In the April 1 municipal election, Huffman led the voting in a four-way race with 46.9% of the vote, falling short of the majority needed to avoid a runoff. West received 36.9%. Edwin Perez took 14.1% and Alisa Romero 2.1%. Huffman, 64, was first elected to office in May 2017, winning a runoff election against Kenneth Kipp. She became the first Black female elected official in the city's history. In 2021, Huffman beat Kipp after a runoff again to keep her seat. She was selected to serve a one-year term as the city's mayor in 2022. Huffman told The Ledger she's "accessible to residents" and has a "no-nonsense leadership style." She said she has been advocating for Haines City to spend $3.4 million on housing rehabilitation through its community redevelopment agency. She said she wants to ensure large-scale businesses moving into Haines City are employing local residents, creating local jobs, particularly if they are asking for incentives from the city. Huffman said she wants to work with Citrus Connection to bring more public transport into the city. Previous report: Haines City's Seat 5 up for grabs West, the brother of current Haines City commissioner Morris West, previously served more than 20 years on the commission. He opted not to run again in 2022, when he filed to run for the state House of Representatives in District 51. He failed to qualify, seemingly because of an error on a check he wrote to cover the qualifying fees. according to a previous Ledger report. The lifelong Haines City resident has a background in underwriting for State Farm, and he holds a bachelor's degree in public administration from Bethune Cookman University. His 2025 campaign motto is "Hope, Belief, Change." He has promised to tackle the city's ongoing traffic issues and create new opportunities for citizens, on his campaign's Facebook website. Information from a previous report by The Ledger's Sara-Megan Walsh was used in this report. This article originally appeared on The Ledger: April 17 is deadline to request mail ballot for Haines City runoff
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Escambia County experienced 'temporary ballot shortages' in Congressional special election
Some polling locations experienced "temporary ballot shortages" during Tuesday's special election. The Escambia County Supervisor of Elections Office alerted the media at 7 p.m. as polls were closing − and published a notice on its website − acknowledging the issue and assuring voters that every vote would be counted. "Due to unprecedented voter turnout in today's Special General Election for U.S. House of Representatives, District 1, some precinct locations in Escambia County have experienced temporary ballot shortages," the notice said. Escambia County Supervisor of Elections Robert Bender was attributed as saying "every voter in line before polls close at 7 p.m. will be able to cast their ballot, and every valid ballot will be counted." Patronis win special election: Jimmy Patronis wins election to Congress in Florida's 1st Congressional District Over 31,000 voters have voted in the Special General Election today, with a 33% voter turnout countywide, according to notice. The Associated Press called the race for Republican candidate Jimmy Patronis at 7:20 p.m. Unofficial results from the Florida Division of Elections as of approximately 7:50 p.m. put Patronis ahead of his Democratic opponent Gaye Valimont 57% to 42%, or 96,087 votes to 71,146 votes. Congressional District 1 consists of four counties – Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa and Walton - and Valimont's showing in Escambia County was by far by her strongest. There, she took 51% of the vote (37,290) to Patronis' 48% (34.953). 'We are excited to see such an unprecedented voter turnout in this election, as we always encourage everyone to exercise their right to vote,' Supervisor of Elections Robert Bender said in the online notice. 'I'd like to assure voters that anyone in line by 7 p.m. will be able to cast their ballot.' This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Florida special election between Patronis Valimont had ballot shortage
Yahoo
22-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Early Voting Guide: Florida's Congressional District 6 Special Election
The Special Election for Congressional District 6 will be held on April 1st, but there's no need to wait to get your vote in. Early voting runs from Saturday, March 22nd to Saturday, March 29th. This election is open to all registered voters within the district, regardless of party affiliation. This includes voters in all of Putnam County, Flagler County, and parts of St. Johns County. The seat was vacated in January after former representative Mike Waltz was chosen by the Trump Administration to serve as the U.S. National Security Advisor. Voters will have the chance to pick between the following four candidates, or write in their own: Randy Fine (R) Josh Weil (D) Andrew Parrott (LPF) Randall Terry (NPA) Below is a guide for how to vote in each of our local counties: Within St. Johns County, you can vote early at the following locations: Supervisor of Elections Office 4455 Avenue A, Suite 101, St. Augustine Southeast Branch Library 6670 US 1 South, St. Augustine Voting will run daily from 9 A.M. to 6 P.M. Early voting runs from Saturday, March 22nd to Saturday, March 29th. Voting will run daily from 8:30 A.M. to 5:30 P.M. There are three locations to choose from: Elections Office 2509 Crill Ave., Suite 900, Palatka Interlachen Community Center 135 S. County Rd 315, Interlachen South Putnam Government Complex 115 N. Summit St., Crescent City Early voting runs from Saturday, March 22nd to Saturday, March 29th. The following voting sites will be open daily from 10 A.M. to 6 P.M. Supervisor of Elections Office 1769 E. Moody Boulevard, Building 2, Suite 101 in Bunnell 32110 Flagler County Public Library 2500 Palm Coast Parkway NW in Palm Coast 32137 [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter] Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
North Port mayor to offer State of the City address on March 12
NORTH PORT – North Port Mayor Phil Stokes will give a State of the City update at 6 p.m., Wednesday at Solis Hall, in a meeting that includes two guest speakers: Sarasota County Commissioner Ron Cutsinger and Sheriff Kurt Hoffman. Stokes, who represents District 5, which includes Wellen Park, will cover the latest developments impacting the city. Topics include expansion of healthcare in the city limits; new schools; upcoming city infrastructure projects; new businesses and job opportunities; and the May 13 special election, which includes five questions for city voters. The questions include two city charter changes and three seeking permission to finance new projects – the largest of which is a proposed new headquarters for North Port Police. Solis Hall is in Downtown Wellen Park at 19745 Wellen Park Blvd. The referenendum will also be discussed at two more town hall meetings: April 2 at the North Port Public Safety Building in Wellen Park and April 24 at Suncoast Technical College. Each is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. The deadline to register to vote in this special election is Monday, April 14, at the Sarasota County Supervisor of Elections office. Those wanting to vote by mail must also request a new vote-by-mail ballot by 5 p.m., May 1. Those ballots can be dropped off between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., May 5-10 at the Supervisor of Elections Office in Biscayne Plaza, 13640 Tamiami Trail, North Port. In-person early voting will be available from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., May 5-10, at the North Port Supervisor of Elections Office in Biscayne Plaza. For more information, visit This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: North Port State of the City presentation scheduled for March 12
