Alachua County elections office receives racist emails after precincts ran out of GOP nerds

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WCJB) – An anonymous person going by Batman is sending racist emails to Alachua Countys Supervisor of Elections, Kim Barton.

This comes after three voting precincts ran out of Republican ballots on primary election day.

They will be identified and the public would know exactly who they are. I dont think the Republican party or the Democratic party appreciate this kind of rhetoric, said Evelyn Foxx, Alachua County NAACP President.

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One email was sent on July 19th. The other was sent last Wednesday, one day after the primary election.

If they are so passionate about their hate then they shouldnt be ashamed to identify themselves, said Foxx.

The person behind the emails is questioning Bartons qualifications because of her race and sex.

In an email to Barton they wrote you will send out incorrect bundles hoping no one will notice your cheating ways.

Foxx said this anonymous person, and others, are quick to blame Barton for the ballot shortage, when she believes the people responsible are the poll workers.

The clerk for that precinct was supposed to call and request more ballots, said Foxx. After you get down to four packets youre supposed to call and request more, that clerk did not do that. She called when there were only four bundles left.

RELATED STORY: Its totally fishy: residents react to GOP ballot shortage during primary election

While thats happening, Newberry City Commissioner Tim Marden and Alachua County Commissioner Raemi Eagle-Glenn are asking people who were impacted to contact them.

Its to gather information for Attorney Jeff Childers for possible litigation.

Its just something that I feel obligated to try and help look into for them and on their behalf, said Marden.

I understand that there were some people that waited as much as almost two hours in either Alachua or High Springs. It seems like in Newberry it maybe was about 45 minutes to an hour, he said. I did have other people third party tell me that they actually couldn’t wait, and they were just not able to vote.

Marden said while he understands people’s frustration, it is not an excuse to send racist remarks to Barton.

While many are calling for Governor DeSantis to remove Barton from office, Marden said I think that is very premature. Thatll be up to the governors office to decide.

Regarding the racist remarks, Foxx told TV 20 I know the FBI is involved and its been reported to the sheriffs department.

TV 20 reached out to the Gainesville Police Department and Alachua County Sheriffs Office asking if they are investigating the racist emails.

ASO said they were not notified about this, and GPD has yet to get back to us.

Officials from the supervisor of elections office tell TV 20 their procedure is to order the same number of ballots for Republicans, Democrats and NPA voters.

They ordered ballots that reflected an expected countywide turnover of 35%.

Supervisor of Elections Kim Barton released the following statement:

The derogatory, harassing, and racist emails I have received are a sad reflection of the current level of discourse in this county and in this country. My office welcomes the public to provide us with feedback on election-related matters. However, the nature of these emails crosses a line and serves as a sad reminder of what I must deal with in this day and time. These emails are vile. This individual hid behind a false identity and this matter should be investigated. My office remains focused on its mission of providing access to accurate election information and ensuring that elections are fair and transparent for everyone.

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