ORLANDO, Fla. – A cadre of Florida voting and civil rights groups are urging Orange County’s outgoing elections supervisor to appoint a deputy two days before he retires. But the supervisor insists the office is already in good hands.
Supervisor of Elections Bill Cowles is retiring on Wednesday after nearly 30 years in office.
Recommended Videos
On Monday, 13 groups sent a letter to Cowles asking him to appoint a deputy supervisor of elections, a position that is currently not filled at the office.
The letter reads in part:
Among the groups signing the letter were the ACLU of Florida, Florida Rising, Latino Justice, NAACP Orange County, and Equal Ground.
Cowles, however, says a deputy elections supervisor is not needed.
In a letter responding to the groups, Cowles said the agency has four deputy chiefs, each overseeing a different division: a chief financial officer, chief elections administrator, chief information officer, and chief technical services officer.
“I have never appointed one chief deputy in my career and have no intention to do so now,” Cowles wrote. “These four chiefs are well versed in their areas and elections in general. Orange County voters are in good hands.”
Cowles was the deputy elections supervisor for the office before he took over in 1996.
Cowles told News 6 recently that he feels comfortable leaving his staff to handle the upcoming elections this year, including the March 19 election, which will consist of the Republican presidential primary and several city elections.
Gov. Ron DeSantis is expected to appoint an interim elections supervisor once Cowles has officially vacated the seat. Cowles says that the appointee will have to rely on his staff.
“So I hope they’ll use the guidance of this staff that I leave behind, and the staff has a total of 425 years of elections experience. So just kind of follow them,” Cowles said.
But there is a concern that Cowles’ retirement will cause chaos, especially from Democrats and liberals who don’t trust the Republican governor. The Orange County Democrats announced the formation of an elections protection team after Cowles’ made his retirement announcement.
The party’s chair told News 6 in December that it was something the party had in the works, but Cowles’ announcement accelerated their plans.
Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily: