MEET THE CANDIDATES: Dan Helm, Orange County Supervisor of Elections

DAN HELM

Age: 38

Residence: Orlando

Family: Wife, Rose; son, Charlie; expecting new arrival, Lincoln, this fall

Education: Doctoral degree in law, Emory Law School; Bachelor’s degree with dual major in political science and classical studies, University of Florida.

Profession: Attorney

Qualifications: Member of the Florida Bar; 2016 deputy regional director of voter protection in Central Florida, in charge of 13 counties; 2018 successful litigator to protect the vote in Orange County; 2020 whistleblower on voter fraud of Derek Chauvin, the man who murdered George Floyd; many years as part of election administration with Orange County as a front line worker; many years as a poll watcher and trainer of poll watchers in the election code.

Why are you running for Orange County Supervisor of Elections?

Election integrity is my passion, and the legitimacy of the process is under attack. My interest in this position did not begin when Bill Cowles announced his retirement. Rather, my interest in this role started more than a decade ago, and my extensive experience defending non-partisan efficient administration of elections supports that.

Discuss your previous experience and how it has prepared you to serve in this role.

My experience comes from many years as an election worker to nearly a decade working with voter protection, to winning a lawsuit to protect voters from being turned away at the polls and to calling out voter fraud of the man who murdered George Floyd. 

I am the only candidate that has previously run for and been a nominee for Supervisor of Elections. I am the only candidate to collect a paycheck from the Orange County Supervisor of Elections Office. I am the only candidate with the experience and knowledge to protect the election process. I am running to continue and build upon the institution of Bill Cowles.

What are the values and morals that have guided your life, and how will you use them as Supervisor of Elections?

“Equal Justice Under Law.” These words are enshrined over our Supreme Court. I remember seeing them often as a kid, as I was born in Washington, D.C. I’ve dedicated my life to following the rule of law in the pursuit of justice. 

I value kindness highly. Kindness is often lacking in our civil discourse, but kindness can be a beacon of light through cloudy times. As Supervisor of Elections, I will follow the law. I will treat people with respect and kindness. I will be transparent and open. I will assist people to update their voter information and get registered to vote. I will inform voters of the elections they can participate in, and how they can do so with ease. I will be a friendly, non-partisan, efficient administrator.

What are the key differences between you and your opponents?

Experience. I might be the youngest candidate, but I am Bill Cowles’ age when he took over the job, and I also am the only candidate with experience. I am the only candidate (who) has worked for the Supervisor of Elections office. I have expert level knowledge of the election code and election administration. 

Additionally, I am very non-partisan in my conduct. The person in charge of counting the votes must be non-partisan. I would question if the former chair of the Republican Party was the person responsible for counting votes. The same way I question the former chair of the Democratic Party wanting to be responsible for counting votes, because the integrity of the election process is under attack, and the perception of having someone who is hyper-partisan undermines the trust of the voters and the legitimacy of the process. 

What are the three most pressing issues facing voters and the SOE office in Orange County?

Secure, accessible, fair elections. I believe voters and the SOE office want to make sure that elections are secure from election disruption threats, whether those threats are hurricanes or bad actors. We want to have easy access to elections to make sure we can vote without barriers to the process, meaning more accessible voting locations, as well as communications about how we can vote with ease. 

Evaluate the job Glen Gilzean has done as current Supervisor of Elections.

I applaud Glen Gilzean for stepping up when he was called upon by the governor. This is a job that Glen did not ask for or even apply for. 

However, there are real problems when you have somebody in the office without any experience. My lawsuit is a prime example of this. Sadly, the 30 years of experience in Bill Cowles was not present for checking qualifying documents, and someone qualified for the ballot who should not have been based upon the documents submitted. This just comes down to a lack of experience. 

Additionally, there have been some communication issues, including misinformation about when the deadline to request a vote-by-mail ballot was. Lack of communication to the County Commission on when deadlines were for ballot initiatives to be placed on the ballot. 

If elected, what will be your strategy to encourage voter turnout and participation?

Dan Dan, the voting man! This is a question of understanding the voters and meeting them where they are, and this is a monumental task in a county that has 1.4 million residents. The short answer is that Dan Dan, the voting man needs to be everywhere — or have his staff have a presence nearly everywhere. Fundamentally, this is about communication and using creative ways to remind people there is an election. One of my ideas is to create an Orange County voting app, which would have push notifications reminding voters when there was an election coming up. 

Finally, there is a growing feeling of voter apathy and a feeling for many voters that their vote has no power. To answer this, I remind voters that we live in the state where the presidential election of 2000 was decided by just 537 votes, or an election in Winter Park just a few months ago that was decided by 34 votes. 

Discuss your lawsuit against Cynthia Harris and its anticipated ramifications on this election.

When I discovered through a public records request that one of my fellow candidates had been improperly qualified, I could not just look the other way. That is not who I am. I am a rules guy, and the integrity of the ballot is at stake. Because Cynthia Harris did not qualify correctly, the ballot style for the election changes to a universal primary contest. What that means is that all voters, regardless of party affiliation, are allowed to vote for the remaining four Democratic candidates. That means if you are registered as a Republican, or if you are registered as a non-partisan or if you are registered as a member of any other party, you are allowed to vote in this race. ... From an election-process perspective, the fact that there is a candidate on the ballot (who) should not be is really disenfranchising hundreds of thousands of voters from having a say in the candidate of their choice.

When I win at trial on Aug. 13, one of the things the Supervisor of Elections office and I have agreed on is about moving this contest of Supervisor of Elections to the November ballot. This is because of the logistical problems of reprinting ballots so late in the process and then getting those ballots in front of the voters. 

How do you ensure voters of all political affiliations that you will fulfill the role of Supervisor of Elections fairly and without bias?

This question is probably a real problem for my fellow Democratic opponents. Particularly, this is a problem of perception for Wes Hodge. 

Hodge’s main experience is from being the former Democratic Party chair for six years. The job of the Democratic Party chair of Orange County is to elect Democrats. Full stop. Wes likes to pick winners and win for Democrats. 

Just as I would not want the former chair of the Republican Party being the one counting the vote, I do not want the former Democratic Party chair counting the vote. There can be no perception in this office that someone has (his or her) thumb on the scale for one party or for one candidate over another. As much as I like Wes — and he likely would have my support if he (were) running for any other office — his background and experience are actually disqualifying for Supervisor of Elections. This office should be non-partisan, and politics should be removed from the process.

Voters can trust me to fulfill the role of Supervisor of Elections because of my record. I stand for the rule of law and the election code. Following the rules is fair and without bias. The office should be run in a non-partisan efficient manner. I am running to continue the institution of Bill Cowles, who ran the office in a non-partisan efficient manner.