Gov. Ron DeSantis, touting himself as someone committed to fraud-free, glitch-free elections, said Wednesday that he removed Broward County’s then-supervisor of elections when he came into office.

He didn’t. The county official in question, Supervisor of Elections Brenda Snipes, was out of office for five weeks by the time DeSantis was sworn in as governor.

That’s not how DeSantis recalled it Wednesday at a news conference in Tampa.

“I came in (to office and) immediately we removed the Palm Beach supervisor of elections, Broward supervisor of elections. We made it clear that we had a new sheriff in town,” DeSantis said.

The statement is half correct, half incorrect.

DeSantis made the assertion while describing his record as he announced his decision to appoint state Sen. Blaise Ingoglia as the state’s new chief financial officer. Ingoglia has been a DeSantis legislative ally on multiple issues, including laws governing elections.

Ten days after taking office in 2019, DeSantis did, indeed, remove Susan Bucher, who was then the Palm Beach County supervisor of elections.

DeSantis did not remove the already removed Snipes.

The 2018 midterm election was marked by a controversial, drawn-out recount, missed deadlines, and a Snipes-approved ballot design that confused many voters. Snipes was subjected to withering national criticism.

On Nov. 18, 2018, hours after the recount wrapped up, Snipes submitted her resignation, with a delayed effective date.

Then-Gov. Rick Scott refused to accept Snipes’ timetable and suspended her from office on Nov. 30, 2018.

Snipes then withdrew her resignation and challenged the suspension in court. A federal judge ruled that Snipes could not be reinstated, but he rebuked Scott, saying he “vilified” her and didn’t provide enough specific reasons backing up the suspension.

After DeSantis took office in January 2019, he reached a deal with Snipes. DeSantis lifted her suspension. She resigned.

“The important thing is not to throw mud about what happened in the past, but let’s get on a better footing,” DeSantis said when announcing his decision about Snipes. “Let’s make sure this doesn’t happen again in Broward County.”

Snipes died in 2023.

DeSantis kept the Scott-appointed replacement supervisor, Pete Antonacci, as Broward elections chief. After Antonacci’s term in Broward ended, DeSantis appointed him director of a new state Office of Elections Crimes and Security. Antonacci died in 2022.

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