SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. – Amy Pennock on Tuesday defeated incumbent Seminole County Supervisor of Elections Chris Anderson in the Florida Primary election.
Pennock, an outgoing member of the Seminole County School Board, garnered 60% of the vote and will face Democrat Deborah Poulalion in the general election in November.
The Seminole County supervisor of elections is in charge of overseeing the office that registers people to vote, maintains voter rolls, qualifies local candidates for races, sends out vote-by-mail ballots, staffs and manages polling locations, and makes sure votes are tabulated and election results are determined with accuracy and transparency.
The supervisor has to navigate a complicated set of election laws and rules to make sure all of this is done and deal with the public, including those who question the accuracy of elections.
Votes
%
Amy Pennock (R)
Christopher Anderson *(R)
(82 / 82)
Let’s meet the candidates.
CHRIS ANDERSON — Campaign website
An Army combat veteran and former Seminole County sheriff’s deputy, Chris Anderson was appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2019 and was reelected in 2020. He is a Master Florida Certified Elections Professional, a certification he earned through Florida State University.
In his time in office, Anderson had a special focus on election security, creating partnerships to help enhance cyber security initiatives and also to train election workers for safety reasons, such as instituting Narcan training after a string of fentanyl-laced letters were found at elections offices across the country.
He also partnered with fellow elections supervisors throughout Central Florida for voter outreach on issues like voting by mail, voter turnout and debunking election misinformation.
Anderson’s time in office has also been roiled in the last year by a series of conflicts, particularly with the Seminole County Commission, over Anderson’s increased frustration with getting a new elections office built. Public confrontations between Anderson and other officials, coupled with serious accusations, have soured his office’s relationship with some county officials.
A supporter of his opponent, Amy Pennock, is suing Anderson, accusing him of using his position to run for reelection, such as going to polling places and interacting with voters. At a Monday hearing, a judge quashed a temporary injunction barring Anderson from being at polling places unless he was actively on official business, saying she did not see any evidence or hear any testimony that supported the claim that he was violating the law.
News 6 reached out to Anderson’s office regarding the lawsuit. We are still waiting for a response.
Anderson said if he is reelected, he plans to continue his efforts to conduct fair and safe elections while keeping the cost of his office low, according to his website.
AMY PENNOCK — Campaign website
Amy Pennock is a businesswoman specializing in financial management services for companies, a certified fraud examiner, and a certified internal controls auditor. She was first elected to the Seminole County school board in 2018 and reelected without opposition in 2020. While on the school board, she served as vice chair from 2019 to 2021, and chair from 2021 to 2022.
She says she plans to use her skills to effectively and cost-efficiently manage the supervisor of elections office. She wants to build a comprehensive system for voter roll maintenance that pulls information from several government agencies, and increase voter outreach programs.