Posted on 11/12/2018 3:26:10 PM PST by yesthatjallen
Democrats and Republicans are bracing for a protracted and volatile recount in Florida as election officials rush to meet a Thursday deadline to complete the process.
Recounts in three statewide races were in full swing, with the nail-biter race between Sen. Bill Nelson (D) and Gov. Rick Scott (R) taking center stage.
Votes are also being retabulated for the state's gubernatorial race between former Rep. Ron DeSantis (R) and Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum (D).
The unfolding drama, and the legal battles surrounding it, are reminiscent of Florida’s presidential recount battle in 2000 that resulted in the election of former President George W. Bush after an intervention by the Supreme Court.
Like in 2000, much of the attention is centered on Broward County and Palm Beach County, both areas with heavy concentrations of Democratic voters that are expected to be the focus of much of the litigation.
After suggesting last week that "election fraud" had taken place, President Trump ramped up his criticism, urging local officials on Monday to go with initial results from Tuesday's elections and call the races for Scott and DeSantis because "an honest vote count is no longer possible."
Meanwhile, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) called for the removal of Broward County Supervisor of Elections Brenda Snipes whom he had appointed to the post in 2003.
“What’s happening now is a boxing match between the two different parties and candidates,” said Susan MacManus, a political science professor at the University of South Florida.
“It looks to me like a repeat of 2000 in the way that everybody is filing lawsuits to keep open ... every potential avenue of challenge via the courts," she said. “To me, the real picture now is it’s a litigation battle.”
Scott currently leads Nelson by roughly 12,500 votes, or about 0.15 percentage point of the vote. Meanwhile in the gubernatorial race, DeSantis led Gillum by more than 33,000 votes, or 0.41 point.
Electoral officials now face a cascade of key deadlines, starting with the results of the machine recount due on Thursday at 3 p.m.
If the margin between the candidates ends up within 0.25 point after the machine recount is conducted, a hand recount will be triggered, which would need to be completed by Saturday.
The results would then need to be certified by Nov. 20.
Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Susan Bucher told CNN on Sunday it’s “impossible” to finish three recounts by the Thursday deadline.
Though the recount has yet to be completed, the legal battle had already started.
Both Scott and Nelson have filed legal actions as they lobbed accusations at one another. Scott has claimed Nelson is trying to “commit fraud” to win the election, while Nelson has accused the governor of seeking to block votes cast legally.
On Sunday, Scott filed two emergency injunctions against Palm Beach and Broward counties, but suffered a setback on Monday when Broward Circuit Court Judge Jack Tuter denied his request that the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and county sheriffs impound and secure vote machines and ballots when not in use.
Additionally, Scott’s campaign filed a complaint in a Broward County court requesting that the county canvassing board halt the inclusion of ballots in the final tally if they were counted after the Saturday deadline. That was when counties submitted unofficial results, triggering the three recounts.
Meanwhile, a judge in a federal court in Tallahassee will hear a case on Wednesday regarding Nelson’s lawsuit to count mail-in and provisional ballots that were invalidated due to signatures that didn’t match.
Nelson’s camp is arguing that the state law requiring a signature on a mail-in ballot to match the one on record is “unconstitutional.”
The recount process has also been surrounded by sharp rhetoric from both sides.
Nelson on Monday called on Scott to recuse himself from “any role” in the recount process.
“Given [Scott’s] efforts to undermine the votes of Floridians, this is the only way that we can ensure that the people’s votes are protected,” Nelson said. “The reason he’s doing these things is obvious. He’s worried when all the votes are counted, he’ll lose the election.”
ETC...
We’re talking thousands of votes here. IIRC, Bush/Gore was something like a 400 vote difference.
Looks to me like the Democrat Party’s goal is to permanently destroy the public’s faith in elections.
And it is succeeding.
You might want to look at the gains in Arizona and Georgia. 38000 votes is child’s play for these dems.
A stolen election is not a win.
True.
Please President Trump send in the US Marshalls!!!!!! This fraud demands very tough action!
Proof yet again that Nelson is dumb as a brick!
Well that too. But in reality their goal is to create confusion, chaos and make it appear as a simple case of incompetence, all the while claiming that the votes are still legitimate (although what they have done is create a needle in a haystack) and to not allow them is voter suppression.
Don’t forget Murkowski. Remember Dianne had her up against the wall.
If I recall correctly, it’s the legislature that determines voting procedures and laws. Judges have zero legal standing to determine how votes are counted. Judges can have an opinion, but that’s all it is - an opinion. If the legislature agrees with that opinion, it can pass a law to reflect that opinion. Otherwise, the black-robes can butt out and shutup.
Follow the laws as passed by the legislature. Thus ends this election fiasco.
Yep. That’s not advocacy
It’s treason
Yes it is. This is playing with nitroglycerin. When do the people withdraw the consent of the governed?
Oh but yes, it is!
This senior citizen veteran is not happy with the way things are going.
Sorry, not a good day...
Republicans still have to attain office the hard way:by getting more votes
.
“Looks to me like the Democrat Party’s goal is to permanently destroy the public’s faith in elections.
And it is succeeding”
That would be a good thing if it results in an effective remedy, especially before 11/2020.
Is it to be the job of our leaders, or the people?
It’s not a good feeling I’m having.
Nobody feels good about war.
With a whimper I fear. No bang.
The American people will lose heart, and surrender to Uniparty rule.
Not long after, the Uniparty will surrender to the global technocrats.
it started off as 10s of thousands...
keep that in mind.
The Left is furious because Trump refuses to accept the peace that comes through surrender.
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