SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — Seminole County Supervisor of Elections Christopher Anderson said the new building he needs won’t be ready by the next presidential election.
Channel 9 first broke the news in January about his need for a larger building.
Anderson pointed to a lack of space, saying the current location doesn’t give voters the service and election integrity they need.
Anderson is blaming county commissioners for the current delays in the project.
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Anderson hopes commissioners will approve the plan next week. He said besides the much-needed extra space, election security is an issue.
But some of the commissioners have been asking for more information before they vote to approve anything.
Between 2018 and 2020, more than 30,000 people registered to vote in Seminole County. Those numbers continue to go up as more people move here.
“It is very popular to live in this area,” Anderson said. “And we have to make sure that we’re providing the quality level of service that Seminole County voters have come to expect.”
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With more people moving to the area, more election equipment must be purchased.
Anderson said they are out of room at their office in Sanford. His plan for a new, much larger building has gone before the county commissioners several times since January.
The process began two years ago.
“We’ve already answered all their questions. It seems that every meeting, a new question comes up. And that’s where I’m getting concerned is that we have provided so much information since October of 2020,” Anderson said.
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Anderson added that he’s gone above and beyond providing information, but the sense of urgency he feels isn’t there, which he believes is putting future elections in jeopardy.
“There’s no more kicking the can down the road because it’s expensive to be cheap. We need to make sure that we are looking at making sure elections are safe today, tomorrow and in the future,” Anderson said.
Commissioner Lee Constantine told Channel 9 that a new building is needed, but Anderson is asking for a building that is four times the size he has now.
Constantine said the county commissioners are doing their due diligence and that this is the process everyone must go through. He added that there are still questions the supervisor has not answered.
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Commissioners hope to have those answers by May 10, when the next meeting regarding this issue takes place.
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