Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Recount prospects grow as Florida races tighten
The Hill ^ | 11/08/18 | Max Greenwood

Posted on 11/08/2018 2:50:34 PM PST by yesthatjallen

The races for Senate and governor in Florida tightened even further on Thursday, raising the prospect that two of the highest profile contests in the country could be headed to a recount.

The tumult also underscored how intensely divided the country’s largest and most volatile battleground state remains along political and demographic lines 18 years after handing George W. Bush the presidency following one of the most controversial recounts in U.S. history.

As of Thursday afternoon, just 17,344 votes – a difference of 0.22 percentage points – separated Sen. Bill Nelson (D) and his Republican challenger, Florida Gov. Rick Scott, in their closely watched Senate race.

Meanwhile, the race for Florida governor also unexpectedly narrowed, with new vote totals showing Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum (D) and former Rep. Ron DeSantis (D) within 0.47 points of one another.

The close races have buoyed Democratic hopes that Nelson and Gillum could still eek out narrow wins, frustrating Republicans who saw the contests as all but decided after Tuesday's elections.

In Florida, machine recounts are triggered when the margin between two candidates is of below 0.5 points, while hand recounts are prompted when candidates are separated by 0.25 points or less.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Marc Elias, a prominent elections lawyer hired by Nelson to counsel him through a recount, was bullish about the senator’s prospects of winning a fourth term in the chamber.

He said that vote totals were still coming in from Broward and Palm Beach counties – both Democratic strongholds – and that a hand recount appeared inevitable.

“At the end of this process Sen. Nelson is going to prevail,” Elias said. “I will say it’s a jump ball."

Meanwhile, Scott’s campaign accused the three-term Democrat of trying to “steal" the election.

Scott has already declared victory in the race, though Nelson has yet to concede.

The political landscape in Florida got another shock to the system on Thursday, when Gillum opened the door to a possible recount in his bid for governor.

Gillum conceded to DeSantis on Tuesday night after polls showed him trailing by a slim – but then seemingly insurmountable – 1 point margin.

But new returns on Thursday showed the gap is closing. DeSantis, who once led Gillum by nearly 80,000 votes, is currently ahead by only 38,515 votes, according to the most recent count posted by the Florida Division of Elections.

“Mayor Gillum started his campaign for the people, and we are committed to ensuring every single vote in Florida is counted,” Johanna Cervone, Gillum’s communications director, said in a statement.

The closest state-wide race in Florida is the contest for agriculture commissioner, where Democrat Nikki Fried leads Republican Matt Caldwell by a mere 575 votes. Though a lower profile race, agriculture commissioner is a Cabinet-level position in Florida and is seen as influential in state policymaking.

Most Florida counties have yet to complete evaluations of provisional ballots – those cast by voters whose eligibility was uncertain or unverified.

As of Thursday afternoon, Broward County election officials were still tallying up vote-by-mail ballots and early voting ballots. Meanwhile, officials in Palm Beach County were busy counting vote-by-mail ballots.

Machine recounts in Florida would need to be completed by Nov. 15, while manual recounts would need to be wrapped up by Nov. 18, setting up the prospect of an intense race to count the votes.

Other high-profile election results across the country were also up in the air.

In Arizona, vote counts continued to trickle in for the Senate race between Reps. Kyrsten Sinema (D) and Martha McSally (R).

Just over 17,000 votes currently separate the two candidates in a crucial race to succeed retiring Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.).

In a bid to limit mail-in ballots in the state, the Arizona Republican Party filed a lawsuit late Wednesday alleging that some county recorders have allowed voters to fix problems with their mail-in ballots after Election Day.

Arizona is expected to release the results of a new batch of tallied votes on Thursday evening.

In Georgia, the race for governor also remains too close to call. Republican Brian Kemp, who declared victory and resigned his post as the Georgia secretary of state on Thursday, is hanging on to a slim 1.6-point margin.

But Democrat Stacey Abrams is hoping that outstanding ballots will give her the votes to close that gap enough to trigger a runoff election.

Her campaign preparing a lawsuit alleging that some voters in Dougherty County weren't given enough time to return their absentee ballots by Election Day, because the county was too slow to send them out.

“We are in this race until we’re convinced that every vote is counted,” Abrams’s campaign manager Lauren Groh-Wargo said at a press conference Thursday. “We don’t believe any of these numbers are credible.”


TOPICS: News/Current Events; US: Florida
KEYWORDS: gillum; midterms; nelson; recount
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-23 next last
No doubt a few boxes of uncounted ballots have turned up in the trunks of poll workers' cars.
1 posted on 11/08/2018 2:50:34 PM PST by yesthatjallen
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: yesthatjallen

OF COURSE it grows tighter.

Bastard cheaters.


2 posted on 11/08/2018 2:52:12 PM PST by snarkytart
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: yesthatjallen

Are they still at the union print shop?


3 posted on 11/08/2018 2:52:15 PM PST by rktman (Enlisted in the Navy in '67 to protect folks rights to strip my rights. WTH?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: yesthatjallen

Thousands of undervotes in Senate race. Who knew?


4 posted on 11/08/2018 2:56:20 PM PST by goldstategop (In Memory Of A Dearly Beloved Friend Who Lives In My Heart Forever)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: goldstategop

And everyone intended to vote for Nelson.


5 posted on 11/08/2018 2:58:14 PM PST by FlipWilson
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: yesthatjallen

My blood pressure cannot handle this crap. 2000 was bad enough.


6 posted on 11/08/2018 3:02:36 PM PST by madison10
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: madison10

It’s Florida they count till the Democrat wins.


7 posted on 11/08/2018 3:04:33 PM PST by CMailBag
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: yesthatjallen

Pretty obvious they are cheating. Why does the GOP let this happen every damn time, and why is the FL GOP not on top of this? They always cheat to steal close races, and for some reason the GOP lets them.


8 posted on 11/08/2018 3:06:15 PM PST by KansasGirl (Moderation in temper is always a virtue; but moderation in principle is always a vice." Thomas Paine)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: All


“Send an army of US Marshalls into FLA AT ONCE.”


9 posted on 11/08/2018 3:08:25 PM PST by Liz (Our side has 8 trillion bullets; the other side doesn't know which bathroom to use.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: snarkytart

WHY is the vote recount confined ONLY to the counties where the history of widespread fraud is most prominent?

Call for a recount of EVERY precinct in the state in a state-wide race as these contested results are.

Many places, once they have secured a comfortable margin from the in-person voting, do not much bother with mail-in or provisional votes. There could be all sorts of military votes not yet counted, for example, and thus not opened and included in the final tally.

Level playing field and all that, you know.


10 posted on 11/08/2018 3:08:54 PM PST by alloysteel (In my defense, I was left unsupervised.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: All

DO NOT SEAT ANDREW GILLUM

Pam Biondi
Office of Attorney General
State of Florida
The Capitol PL-01
Tallahassee, FL 32399-1050

Telephone Numbers
Switchboard: 850-414-3300
Citizens Services: 850-414-3990
Florida Toll Free: 1-866-966-7226

Thanks to an astute Freeper......we know the Fla legislator can refuse to seat Gillum.
Florida state legislature

House of Representatives——

Majority Republican Party (73)

Minority——Democratic Party (47)

President of the Senate Joe Negron (R) Since November 22, 2016

Senate Majority Leader Wilton Simpson (R) Since November 29, 2016

Speaker of the House Richard Corcoran (R) Since November 22, 2016

House Majority Leader Ray Rodrigues (R)


11 posted on 11/08/2018 3:09:06 PM PST by Liz (Our side has 8 trillion bullets; the other side doesn't know which bathroom to use.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: alloysteel

Call President Trump: Comments: 202-456-1111 Switchboard: 202-456-1414

U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530-0001
Comment Line: 202-353-1555 Switchboard: 202-514-2000

CONTACT: Florida Secretary of State
R.A. Gray Building
500 South Bronough Street
Tallahassee, Florida 32399

850.245.6500
850.245.6125 (fax)
850.245.6096 (TDD line)

EMAIL SecretaryofState@DOS.MyFlorida.com

Physical Address:
Clifton Building
2661 Executive Center Circle
Tallahassee, FL 32301
Hours: 8:00 a.m. - 5 p.m. EST

Mailing Address:
P. O. Box 6327
Tallahassee, FL 32314
850.245.6000
850.245.6014 (fax)
sunbiz.org/contact.html

CONTACT Sen. Mitch McConnell
Contact Info
Website
http://mcconnell.senate.gov

Washington, DC
adr: U.S. Senate, 317 Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, DC 205100001
ph: (202) 224-2541
fax: (202) 224-2499

Bowling Green, KY
adr: Federal Building, 241 East Main Street - Room 102, Bowling Green, KY 42101
ph: (270) 781-1673

Louisville, KY
adr: 601 West Broadway - Room 630, Louisville, KY 40202
ph: (502) 582-6304

Lexington, KY
adr: 771 Corporate Drive, Suite 108, Lexington, KY 40503
ph: (859) 224-8286


12 posted on 11/08/2018 3:09:56 PM PST by Liz (Our side has 8 trillion bullets; the other side doesn't know which bathroom to use.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: All

Governor Scott CAN fire the Supervisors of Elections in Palm Beach and Broward Counties. They are in violation of Florida Law.

CONTACT GOV SCOTT:
Office of Governor Rick Scott
State of Florida
The Capitol
400 S. Monroe St.
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0001

(850) 488-7146


13 posted on 11/08/2018 3:14:55 PM PST by Liz (Our side has 8 trillion bullets; the other side doesn't know which bathroom to use.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: yesthatjallen

Has anybody else noticed that with all these recounts, only the democrats gain votes. Why is that? Is it because perhaps there is some cheating? Why is it that the Republicans never gain any votes?


14 posted on 11/08/2018 3:21:54 PM PST by maxwellsmart_agent (.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: yesthatjallen

This is nothing compared to what’s happening here in AZ. They have over 600,000 ballots still uncounted, with 500,000 of those in left leaning Phoenix. More than enough to overturn the R Senate “victory” on election night.


15 posted on 11/08/2018 3:28:25 PM PST by Breyean
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: snarkytart

In this GOPs fault, in my view. In my way, get several GOP counties ready for “recount”. When rats have final numbers by X, announce we are doing “ “ recount” as well. Find X + 200 numbers. We won. If they want to audit ballots, good idea. We need to audit all recount ballots. Play this as long as you can.


16 posted on 11/08/2018 4:07:58 PM PST by Lee25
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: yesthatjallen
This is where the GOP state legislatures keep failing.

Require a $100M bond from the Democrat loser who asks for a recount. The bond will be non-refundable, and used to fund the recount.

Any excess will go to the funding a permanent state committee to investigate voter fraud and to clean voter rolls.

17 posted on 11/08/2018 4:20:24 PM PST by StAnDeliver ("Mueller personally delivered US uranium to Russia.")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Breyean

AZ is lost as will be the governor and senator in FL. GA governor may survive, but I give it <50% chance.


18 posted on 11/08/2018 5:39:50 PM PST by damper99 (pu)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 15 | View Replies]

To: yesthatjallen

Brenda Snipes and her minions are working overtime to create ballots.

I’m praying to God his will be done.


19 posted on 11/08/2018 5:47:51 PM PST by upchuck (Congress is an assisted living facility for the mentally impaired... h/t Truth29)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: madison10

END early voting.

End absentee voting unless incapacitated to get to polls.

END Provisional ballots.

END motor voter registration.

Purple fingers for all.

Open polls at 5 am if necessary for working people & close them at 8 or 9 pm.

NO ELECTION RESULTS UNTIL WEST COAST POLLS CLOSED.


20 posted on 11/09/2018 7:57:36 AM PST by ridesthemiles
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-23 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson