Former Broward County elections supervisor Brenda Snipes PHOTO COURTESY OF BROWARD COUNTY ELECTIONS DEPARTMENT

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.–Brenda Calhoun Snipes, former Broward County Elections Supervisor who resigned after alleged voting ballot irregularities during the 2018 midterm elections, and an educator, died on Oct. 2, her family confirmed. Snipes died after a short illness at the age of 80.

Born in Talladega, Alabama, Snipes moved to Miami in 1964 after she graduated from Talladega College with a degree in modern foreign languages.

She started her teaching career at Blanche Ely High School in Pompano Beach and was principal at Robert Markham Elementary School in Broward County.

She returned to school and earned her master’s degree in curriculum and instructions for adults from Florida Atlantic University and a doctorate in educational leadership from Nova Southeastern University.

She retired from education in 2003.

That same year, Snipes, a Democrat, was appointed supervisor of elections for Broward County by then-Republican Jeb Bush to replace Miriam Oliphant who he removed from office for alleged irregularities and fraud in the handling of ballots in the 2000 controversial U.S. presidential election between Vice President Al Gore and George W. Bush.

Snipes herself was removed from office in 2018 by then-Florida Republican Gov. Rick Scott after he accused her of failing to maintain order within her office and complaints of malfeasance, stemming from the elections.

At the time, Scott was challenging Democratic U.S. Senator Bill Nelson.

Some registered voters complained they were turned away at the polls by security guards and a box containing ballots was left at a school used as a polling place.

In addition, the Canvassing Board found some of the ballots were illegal due to mismatched signatures, however, since the votes were already processed, they could not be distinguished from the legal votes counted.

Due to the discrepancies, no winner was declared in the Senate race until the following Friday and Scott successfully sued claiming Broward County violated the law.

A judge ordered Snipes to disclose the number of ballots cast in the midterm elections by a 7p.m deadline but she didn’t comply.

After several recounts because the race was so close, Scott was declared the winner after Nelson conceded.

Snipes submitted her resignation letter on Nov. 18, 2018, effective Jan. 4, 2019, but Scott removed her from office on Nov. 30, 2018.

Scott’s predecessors, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, accepted Snipes’ resignation when he took office in January 2019.

Snipes was a four-term Broward County supervisor of elections before she resigned from her post.

She released a statement at the time of her resignation expressing gratitude to voters in Broward County as she headed for retirement.

"A sincere thank you to all of the voters in Broward County and all of the potential voters," she said. "It has been a great ride for me and I’m glad that we were able to finish with dignity and my name restored, those are two things that cost no money."

Snipes is survived by her husband Walter Snipes, two daughters Derrice Snipes-Hakeem and Melanie Snipes Thomas and two grandchildren Kamille Ruth and Ellyn