The Miami-Dade County Democratic Party is calling on the county’s supervisor of elections to recuse herself from the canvassing board after she publicly endorsed a property tax amendment on next month’s ballot.<\/p>\n
At a Sept. 28 news conference<\/a>\u00a0alongside two other Republican county officials, Garcia endorsed Amendment 3 and urged residents to vote for it.<\/p>\n “For me, it’s an honor and a privilege to be here with all of my colleagues supporting Amendment 3,” Garcia said. “I urge everyone to vote yes on Amendment 3, number 254 on your ballot. If you have your ballot at home, please fill it out and send it in.”<\/p>\n The officials emphasized during the event that they were speaking as private citizens.<\/p>\n Local Democrats asked Garcia to step down from the county canvassing board, which decides the validity of questioned ballots.<\/p>\n “This is the organization in the county that would determine whether or not a ballot that was cast by an eligible voter would be accepted or wouldn’t be accepted if there were any questions on the ballot,” said Brad Bauman, communications committee chair for the Miami-Dade<\/a> County Democratic Party.<\/p>\n In a written statement to CBS News Miami on Friday, Garcia did not directly address the recusal calls but restated her position.<\/p>\n “I am speaking on this issue as a private citizen and resident, and as a mother and grandmother. From this perspective, I support the passage of Amendment 3,” she said.<\/p>\n Bauman said the party intends to keep pressing for her recusal.<\/p>\n “If your private opinion on a matter is private, you don’t call a news conference and tell everyone what you support and then expect us to say, ‘Oh, well, they have a point of view on this issue. What exactly does that mean for how they are going to administer our elections?'” Bauman said.<\/p>\n Garcia maintains that Amendment 3 will provide property tax relief for homeowners. Critics argue it will reduce county revenues by millions, threatening local services including public safety.<\/p>\n Garcia is the county’s first elected supervisor of elections following a revision to Florida’s constitution. The post was previously appointed by the county mayor.<\/p>\n