Such behavior is by no means out of character. This year alone, Snipes has been reprimanded by the courts twice: once, in May, for illegally destroying ballots during the 2016 Democratic primary, in violation of both state and federal law; and again, in August, for illegally opening mail-in ballots in secret. How long, we wonder, does it take to establish a pattern?

Although Ron DeSantis and Rick Scott hold electoral leads that are unlikely to be reversed, both races remain close enough to have triggered recounts. One does not need to believe that Snipes is engaged in widespread fraud to grasp that her rank incompetence is guaranteed to diminish faith in that process. Florida has a host of laws on the books that were designed to ensure that its citizens can track elections in as close to real time as possible. When those laws are ignored — and when the press is met with hostility, defiance, and indifference — it becomes more difficult to guarantee that nothing untoward is going on. During elections, “Trust us” is an extraordinary request, even from a figure of unimpeachable record. From Brenda Snipes, it is farcical.

It should be clear by now that Broward County has a systemic problem with its management of elections.