BY CHRISTOPHER VARGAS
As Palm Beach County gears up for the 2024 general election, with a variety of races set to determine key government positions, one of the decisions that voters will make is who should be running the county’s elections office.
With vote-by-mail ballots already on their way to voters, early voting will take place from Monday, Oct. 21 through Sunday, Nov. 3 at select locations, ahead of the official Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 5, when all polling places will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Meanwhile, Florida’s voter registration deadline of Monday, Oct. 7 is almost here. To learn more, visit www.votepalmbeach.gov.
All the action makes the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Office a busy place — and who should run the office is also on the ballot. Two candidates are contending for this vital role, the incumbent Supervisor of Elections Wendy Sartory Link, a Democrat, and Republican challenger Jeff Buongiorno.
The Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections oversees the administration of elections in the county and its municipalities, a position of increasing importance in today’s fraught political landscape.
Wendy Sartory Link — Link was initially appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2019 to serve as the county elections supervisor. When she was appointed, Link initially indicated that she didn’t plan to seek a full term in the job when it was on the ballot in 2020. However, she ended up filing to run as a Democrat, winning the primary and was then unopposed in the general election.
This all happened during the COVID-19 crisis, when Link introduced a range of safety and security measures to guarantee that the 2020 election was carried out successfully. Since taking office, Link has implemented several reforms aimed at improving the voting process.
“With a commitment to integrity, accountability and service, I have worked to re-instill confidence in the accuracy and efficiency of our elections,” Link said. “In this role, I have prioritized election integrity, the use of new technology, cybersecurity, voter education, accessibility, community partnerships, election worker safety, office efficiency and fiscal responsibility.”
Under her leadership, the county saw expanded access to early voting during the 2020 election cycle, with more polling locations and extended voting hours. Poll workers also received their first wage increase in nearly a decade. Vote-by-mail has become more secure with ballot tracking, and new engagement programs have educated the public about the electoral process, including the nationally recognized “Elections Experience Tour.”
Link serves as president-elect of the Florida State Association of Supervisors of Elections, serves as a member of Urban & Large County Elections Registration Supervisors and is a Florida certified election professional. She’s also a CERA graduate of the National Association of Election Officials Election Center.
When asked about her qualifications, Link highlighted her expertise and thoughts about her opponent, Buongiorno.
“I am the only qualified, experienced and prepared choice for the job,” she said. “My opponent has proposed ideas that are not only illegal under current Florida Statutes and U.S. law, but would disenfranchise voters, risk election counting errors and call into question the integrity and accuracy of our elections. My opponent is an election denier, arguing the 2020 election results were incorrect, is on record wanting to remove the option to vote early or by mail, and wants to have votes/election results counted by hand. He spreads election misinformation and unfounded conspiracy theories, and advocates for policies that the supervisor of elections has no authority to implement.”
To better serve the community, Link had ensured that voting information was made available in Spanish and Haitian Creole. She actively opposed efforts to suppress voter turnout and introduced pre-paid return postage for all vote-by-mail ballots, enhancing voter accessibility and convenience.
Her goals for the future are to protect taxpayer dollars and keep the office operating efficiently and on budget. She also plans to work with other election supervisors on initiatives and legislation to improve voting, election security and voter accessibility. Link said she will also prioritize investing in new technology; collaborate with national, state and local law enforcement and cybersecurity experts to protect voter information and elections; and enhance voter engagement activities.
A native of Palm Beach County, Link holds degrees from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and the Duke University School of Law. She has more than 30 years of legal experience in private practice.
“I have a proven record of leading the Supervisor of Elections Office with integrity, accountability and a commitment to service,” she said. “As supervisor, our office has received dozens of awards recognizing how we conduct elections, our voter outreach programs, and our commitment to integrity and security.”
Learn more about Link at www.wendyforsoe.com.
Jeff Buongiorno — Buongiorno, the Republican candidate, relocated to Florida from New Jersey more than 10 years ago. He is running for supervisor of elections with a campaign centered on restoring public trust in the electoral system and safeguarding civil liberties.
Buongiorno is sharply critical of how Link has run the elections office. Some of his policies prioritize eliminating voter fraud, implementing a zero-based budgeting method of funding and enforcing security measures to prevent undocumented immigrants from registering to vote.
“As an elected official and constable of the county, I would ensure that the citizens of Palm Beach County become confident that their voting rights are not being trampled through loopholes and cybersecurity threats,” Buongiorno said.
He said that his platform will strengthen election integrity and ensure accountability in the electoral process. “I will institute a zero trust tolerance policy with regard to IT security and legal loopholes, which currently plague the system,” Buongiorno said.
Buongiorno said he is leveraging his law enforcement and business expertise in his bid for office. After his time in law enforcement, Buongiorno founded companies in information technology and manufacturing, gaining valuable experience in leadership, management and technology solutions. He said he owns a technology firm and holds more than 100 IT certifications personally.
When asked about his thoughts on how the office is currently being run, Buongiorno was not impressed.
“The office is overstaffed, and the technology seems to intimidate Wendy Link, and she cannot provide straight answers to a series of questions,” Buongiorno said. “She always defers the question to the state or Tallahassee.”
He asserted that he does not believe that Link’s office properly checks the residency and citizenship of voters as required by Florida law.
If he were to be elected, Buongiorno said that he would ensure that the citizens of Palm Beach County become confident that “their voting rights are not being trampled through flaws and cybersecurity threats.” He accused the office of “multiple failures” and “negligence of duty.”
“Election officials should be honest and transparent,” Buongiorno said. “Wendy Link and the canvassing board of the county is not. The new rule they illegally passed allows them to obfuscate reporting details and gives the canvassing board the ability to determine a voter’s intent on a blank ballot. I will protect the voting rights of every legal U.S. citizen; the current administration does not offer such protections.”
Learn more about Buongiorno at www.jeffbuongiorno.com.
