'I Was Fired For Witnessing Possible Absentee Ballot Fraud'

A temporary worker for the Broward County Supervisor of Elections Office in Florida has alleged in a sworn affidavit obtained by Newsmax that she was fired this week after witnessing possible absentee ballot fraud by office workers.

But the State Attorney's Office concluded Friday that the workers were duplicating ballots by hand from damaged originals faxed by military personnel and that "there is nothing improper or illegal about the conduct" under state law.

"We were understandably alarmed about what she witnessed," Bob Nichols, a Fort Lauderdale attorney, told Newsmax in an interview.

Nichols is general counsel for the Broward Republican Executive Committee, which learned of the allegations on Thursday. He interviewed the former employee and reported the matter that day to the state attorney.

"Our goal is to assure that all of the election rules are properly followed," he told Newsmax. "We want a fair election for everyone."

According to the affidavit, the former employee alleged that on Monday about 8:30 p.m. she had been told to take a stack of absentee ballot forms to what is known as the Pitney-Bowes Room at the Supervisor of Elections (SOE) office in Lauderhill, Fla.

Through the locked door's window, she saw four workers sitting at a table in the room with "stacks of documents and writing something," according to the affidavit.

She knocked on the door — and an SOE worker opened the door, took the stack from her "and closed the door," she alleged. "The employee seemed very rushed."

When the former employee returned a short time later with a second stack, the woman was allowed into the room.

"I could see the four SOE employees sitting at the same table actively filling out election ballots," she said in the affidavit. Each worker "had a stack of blank ballots to the right of them … and a stack of completed ballots to their left."

More