Broward County Supervisor of Elections - Then and Now
As we look back and see how the Broward County Supervisor of Elections’ Office has evolved, we see the importance of our office and how embedded it is into our history.
Broward County was formed from a part of Palm Beach County and a part of Dade County in 1915. In 1916 the Primaries were held in June and the General Election in November.
The Broward County Supervisor of Elections had six precincts with a total registration of 908 voters. We now have 345 precincts and over 1.2 million voters to account for.
Ms. Easter Lily Gates served for 40 years as Supervisor of Elections of Broward County. She was also the first woman bus driver in the county. She went into politics just 9 years after women got the vote. Hats were her trademark. Without a car, she walked the length of the county, courting the 5,000 voters in 1929.
Ms. Miriam Oliphant was the Supervisor of Elections from January 2001, when she was elected to that position by over 65% of the votes, to November 2003. The touch screen machines were first used during her tenure.
Dr. Brenda C. Snipes was appointed in 2003 as Supervisor of Elections by the governor of Florida, and has been re-elected three times to that position. She believes in the importance of education and recently under her tenure, the Broward County Supervisor of Elections office has received a National Award for its partnership with Broward County Schools.
Peter Antonacci has had an extensive career in public service, including experience in election security as a Deputy Attorney General, Statewide and was appointed in 2018 by Governor Ron DeSantis as Broward County Elections Supervisor. Previous to that role, Antonacci has served as Deputy Attorney General of Florida under former Attorney General Bob Butterworth, CEO of Enterprise Florida, General Counsel to former Governor Rick Scott, Palm Beach County State Attorney, and Executive Director of the South Florida Water Management District. Antonacci graduated from Florida State University School of Law.
Joe Scott was first elected to take over Broward's elections office when he was sworn in Jan. 5, 2021. A graduate of West Point and was awarded the bronze star as an army captain and combat leader in Iraq, he brings military and technology leadership experience to the Broward County Supervisor of Election office.