Elections chief Anderson seeks dismissal of canvassing board attorney, but vote fails

Days before a municipal election in Seminole County, the attorney for the board that oversees the voting process narrowly escaped being fired.

After hours spent opening and counting mailed ballots ahead of Tuesday’s election, the Seminole County canvassing board spent more than an hour in tense discussions before deciding Friday to keep its attorney Phil Kaprow despite the objections of Supervisor of Elections Chris Anderson.

Anderson called for Kaprow’s removal after he said the attorney, who until recently also represented Anderson’s office, sent a letter to the Department of State last week claiming there appeared to be signs of “incompetence” in Anderson’s office.

It’s the latest public display of tension among Anderson and Seminole County. Anderson has made videos and written letters accusing county officials of racism and representatives of the county have fired off letters to the Florida governor and the state GOP, complaining about Anderson and calling for investigations into how he runs his office.

In the letter emailed to the state on Oct. 25, Kaprow wrote that Bruce Cherry, the chair of the Seminole County Republican Executive Committee, told him that Anderson was required by law to send a certified letter to Cherry and others informing them of the dates the canvassing board would meet at least 30 days before the start of early voting. According to the letter, Cherry told Kaprow he never received the proper notice even though the canvassing board had its first meeting on Oct. 27 and election day is just days away.

During an election cycle, the canvassing board, which includes Anderson, the chair of the board of county commissioners and a judge, is tasked with testing voting machines, counting ballots and conducting a post-election audit of the voting system.

“Inasmuch as the election is less than 30 days away if the county chairs were not given the certified letters as required under the statute, it would appear that incompetence or a dereliction of duty exists with the sitting Supervisor,” Kaprow wrote in an email to state officials.

Days later, Maria Matthews, director of the Division of Elections in the Department of State, sent Anderson a letter saying that state officials would send staff to Seminole County to observe on Election Day.

“During gubernatorial and presidential election cycles, the Department of State sends election observers to counties for various reasons, including, but not limited to, counties with new Supervisors of Elections, counties who have had allegations of concerns with election administration, or counties who may have bought new elections equipment,” the Oct. 31 letter stated, adding that observers would also be sent to Orange and Osceola counties to monitor those elections as well.

Though Matthews’ letter did not mention Kaprow’s assertions specifically, in a response sent Wednesday, Candace Brascomb, attorney for the Supervisor of Elections office, refuted the claims. It is the responsibility of city governments, not Anderson’s office, to provide the notice Cherry requested, the letter said.

“The Supervisor has exhibited neither incompetence nor dereliction of duties and is committed to administering a smooth, fair, transparent election this November,” Brascomb wrote. “As neither the Supervisor nor I have been copied on any corrections Mr. Kaprow may have made to his previous statements, the Supervisor wishes to notify your office of his ongoing compliance with intergovernmental agreements as well as state law.”

In a statement, Anderson went on to say that it was Kaprow who showed evidence of incompetence because he sent the letter to the state after referencing an outdated statute and failing to review the agreement that governs the notification process.

“He incompetently referred to the previous year’s statute and failed to read the interlocal agreement he had previously reviewed as general counsel to this office thus making me correct in my duties as the Supervisor of Elections of Seminole County,” Anderson said. “Mr. Kaprow’s statements were disrespectful and further explain why I’ve had to speak up about my experiences here in Seminole County. … I’m being personally attacked. My character that took me 40 years to build is being attacked and it’s because I spoke up about racial discrimination.”

Anderson, the first Black man to serve as Seminole County Supervisor of Elections, first shared allegations of racial discrimination in September in a video posted to TikTok. He said the discrimination began immediately after he was appointed to the role by Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2019. He won reelection in 2020 and has said he plans to run again to keep his seat in 2024.

Briefly, the board considered holding a meeting on Monday to discuss Kaprow’s future as its attorney but Seminole County Commissioner Amy Lockhart, who is also a member of the canvassing board, called for her fellow board members to wait until after the election for the discussion.

“I just think the timing’s not great,” Lockhart said. “Should it be taken up? Absolutely. It should be taken up. But the Monday before an election? … I think we need to let this process finish out.”

Anderson has accused Lockhart specifically of racial discrimination. Lockhart last month wrote a letter to DeSantis calling for an investigation into Anderson’s office. So far, the governor’s office has not said whether that investigation will happen.

During the meeting, Kaprow said he would comply if the board chose to remove him as its attorney but said he did not think that would be fair.

“I have not taken any action other than to do what I believe is the professional and right thing to do to protect the integrity of this election,” he said.

In a heated conversation Friday, Kaprow criticized Anderson’s running of the office, pointing to the recent resignations of several senior staff members. At that time, Ebony Anderson, Chris Anderson’s wife, was observing the meeting with other members of the public. She stood and attempted to interject in defense of her husband and was quietly removed from the room by a deputy.

Lockhart and Judge Carsandra Buie voted to keep Kaprow as the board’s attorney, with Anderson voting for his removal.

Lockhart and Buie called for the canvassing board to revisit his future as its counsel after the post-election audit is complete, securing Kaprow’s position for the next two weeks. Speaking out against the vote, Anderson ended by saying he would not allow Kaprow to represent him in any capacity, adding that Kaprow’s presence interferes with his ability to perform his duties as supervisor of elections.

Anderson said he has already filed a complaint with the Florida Bar Association to report Kaprow’s behavior and said he has plans to file another complaint. A copy of the complaint could not be obtained late Friday.

“I’m rejecting Mr. Kaprow’s representation,” Anderson said. “I’ve already legally spoken to my counsel. I don’t have to take his representation. You two can have him but I’m not going to.”