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 577 precincts and over 1 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.