Florida County Supervisor of Elections Placed Under State Oversight for Mail-In Ballot Violations

Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd testifies at a Pennsylvania hearing on cleaning voter rolls held on Oct. 18, 2023, in Harrisburg, Pa. Screen shot

The Florida Department of State (FDS) has placed long-time Osceola County Supervisor of Elections Mary Jane Arrington, a Democrat, under oversight for the upcoming special primary election on Nov. 7.

State officials are trying to stop Ms. Arrington’s office from sending out mail-in ballot envelopes with the voters’ declared political affiliation printed on them.

The practice violates a Florida election law that states, “A mailing envelope or secrecy envelope may not bear any indication of the political affiliation of an absent elector.”

“Osceola County’s actions can provide illegal information to political opponents and help bad actors suppress, interfere with, or manipulate mail-in votes. We’ve seen instances of this happening,” said Kris Jurski, a founder of the People’s Audit and the election integrity chief for the Florida Republican Assembly.

One long-time observer of Florida politics wrote of the practice in an email to The Epoch Times, “Wow. Talk about making it easy for cheaters!”

Two Primary Elections Involved

In an Oct. 12, 2023, letter to Ms. Arrington obtained by The Epoch Times, FDS General Counsel Joseph Van de Bogart, said the Osceola County elections office was a two-time offender—once in Aug. 2022, and again this year in advance of the upcoming primary election.

“As you are aware, this is the second primary election where you have violated this statute,” the letter said.

Ms. Arrington’s latest offense triggered the FDS to notify her that, pursuant to Florida statute, it will be “sending observers to oversee your vote by mail process for the Nov. 7, 2023, special primary election.”

The Florida Capitol in Tallahassee houses the offices of government departments and state lawmakers, and holds the two domed chambers of the state legislature, the meeting places of the state House of Representatives and the state Senate. File photo from March 14, 2023. Nanette Holt/The Epoch Times

The statute mandates that the observers, “shall have full access to all premises, records, equipment and staff of the supervisor of elections.”

The letter stated: “During the August 2022 primary, your office prepared envelopes that included R and D coding to indicate the party of the voter receiving vote by mail.”

Shifting the Blame

In response to that allegation, Ms. Arrington, acknowledged at the time that it was a violation and blamed it on her vote-by-mail vendor, according to the FDS letter.

Mr. Van de Bogart went on to write, “On October 10, 2023, the Division of Elections contacted you regarding vote-by-mail ballot envelopes for the State Representative District 35 special primary election that included R and D coding to indicate the party of the voter receiving the vote by mail ballot.”

The next day, Ms. Arrington replied that a vendor printing error caused this year’s problem, the letter said.

The Oct. 12 FDS notice gave Ms. Arrington 10 calendar days “to provide a written plan regarding what remedial measures will be taken … to mitigate the risk of future violations of Florida statutes.

“If we do not receive a sufficient written plan within 30 days … we will be forced to bring an action to enforce your duties in accordance with the Florida Election Code,” Mr. Van de Bogart wrote.

Corrective Action

When contacted by phone by The Epoch Times, Osceola County Elections Office staffer Myra Hernandez said that Ms. Arrington sent a plan for remedial action to Mr. Van de Bogart a week ago. She offered no further comment.

In an online posting announcing the Nov. 7 special primary election, the Osceola County Supervisor of Elections Office informed voters who are requesting a mail-in ballot that they “may be receiving a second envelope for your ballot in the mail.”

The notice also includes a reminder that the Special Primary Election is a closed primary and only voters who are registered as Republicans or Democrats are eligible to vote.

Ms. Arrington, a former county commissioner, was first elected to the top county elections post in 2008.

Osceola County, which is heavily Democrat, is located in central Florida.

The county’s 81,517 registered Democrats outnumber its 56,792 registered Republicans by 24,725.

Nearly every major county office is held by Democrats.

In 2020, challenger Joe Biden defeated incumbent President Donald Trump by 13 percentage points in Osceola County.

The Florida Department of State did not respond to a request for comment.