Concerns grow after Seminole County elections supervisor’s name appears on ballots

SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — A Seminole County attorney is calling on prosecutors and the state division of elections to investigate the supervisor of the elections office after citizens reported receiving duplicate, identical sample ballots in the mail.

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9 Investigates learned Tuesday that Seminole County’s county attorney has called on the state attorney to investigate Seminole County Supervisor of Elections Chris Anderson.

These signs, which list the names of just about every person running for office in Seminole County, line the street across from the supervisor of elections office, though Supervisor Chris Anderson’s own campaign signs are among them.

He’s also got his name on plenty of signage on the property leading to where voters cast their ballots.

Read: County attorney calls on state attorney to investigate Seminole County elections supervisor

Commission board chairman Jay Zembower said beyond these yard signs, he’s concerned about sample ballot issues.

“Arguably, this is not the proper use of taxpayers’ dollars to promote one’s name, especially in a polling place.” Jay Zembower said, “I can only say whether it’s intentional or not. Intentional? I can’t speak to that. I can only say that. It’s simply not appropriate.”

Some citizens reported receiving two ballots.

Read: General counsel for Seminole County Supervisor of Elections resigns, alleges misinformation

Others questioned Anderson’s name as an elected official in the margin next to where he’s also listed as a candidate.

Those issues have been raised to the division of elections in a series of letters sent over the last week by the county attorney.

“It’s very suspicious and not consistent with what I’ve observed around the state from other supervisors of elections.”  Zembower said.

Read: Seminole County elections supervisor steps down from canvassing board over Trump endorsement

For comparison, Channel 9 looked at Orange County, the current supervisor here isn’t seeking election.

Although longtime prior supervisor Bill Cowles had his name on signage outside his office.

The signs guiding voters to polling sites were always generic and had no one’s name.

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Anderson said he was too busy preparing for next week’s primary to speak to us, but sent this statement:

“In Seminole County, for well over a decade, it has been consistent practice for multiple supervisors of elections to include the supervisor’s official logo on sample ballot mailers. The logo is used as a watermark to clearly mark the mailer as an official document from our office, helping voters easily identify it as authentic from other sample ballot flyers/voter guides distributed by 3rd party organizations. The official logo is never included within the sample ballot itself but appears as a watermark on the page.”

Zembower said  “As I am the elected commissioner of Seminole County district two, and I would argue that would be the same as Jim Bauer insisting that every piece of mail, every document that goes out from Seminole County, that my name must be on it and bold print on the front, on the back, wherever it might be.”

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