PBC Supervisor Of Elections Race Is Universal Primary To Be Decided Tuesday

There is a universal primary on your ballot next week. It's the one for Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections and it's in our Election Spotlight.

All voters, regardless of party, can vote on this race and though it's a Democrat primary, there are no other candidates, which means it will be decided on Tuesday.

Incumbent Wendy Sartory Link was appointed to the position by the governor, after he removed her predecessor from office following issues during the 2018 general election.

Link initially said she wouldn't run for election, and explains why she changed her mind.

"After being in here and seeing how much potential there is for this office, I think that we really could be one of the best, if not the best elections office in the state."

She cites new equipment, new policies and a new vision.

Link is challenged by fellow attorney Paulette Armstead, who's also worked in law enforcement.

"I was also on the management team as a Deputy Chief of Police for St. Petersburg. That's where I got my management experience, because I was involved in the day to day operation of the police department. And we were an agency of about 600 employees."

She says that gives her the ability to manage the Supervisor of Elections Office.

Armstead was born and raised in Florida and is currently in private practice as a lawyer, protecting senior citizens from abuse, neglect and exploitation.

When it comes to the Supervisor of Elections Office, Armstead talks about the importance of promoting vote-by-mail, doing a better job at explaining it to voters, and the need to expand early voting hours.

Why is Armstead running for this position? She says it goes back to the March 2020 presidential primary.

"I was just very upset because I saw voter suppression going on and it needs to be stopped."

And she says that "suppression" was happening under Link's watch.

"Three polling locations did not open up, several of them opened up late. The lines were long, we had senior citizens on walkers and in wheelchairs, sitting out in the hot sun for two hours."

Link says the coronavirus pandemic took a massive last minute toll on the process.

"In the last week of the election we had 1,576 poll workers who had been trained and had already committed to their assignments did not show up."

She says more than 600 of those poll workers dropped out on Election Day and she moved those three polling locations quickly, while keeping offices open late to accept ballots.

The supervisor outright denies Armstead's claims against her.

"I've done the opposite of voter suppression. We've done more outreach events since I came in than I think they had done in the ten years prior."

Armstead admits that Link was dealing with a tough situation.

"It was tough and it would have been tough for anybody. All I'm saying is that there was time to prepare for it."

Photo: CBS 12


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