FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) – Florida’s election recount chugged along Tuesday as more irregularities are uncovered and a judge asked the warring sides to “ramp down the rhetoric,” saying it erodes public confidence in the elections for Senate and governor.
One county revealed it had allowed some hurricane-displaced voters to cast their ballots by email – a violation of state law. Another had to restart its recount after getting about a quarter finished because someone forgot to push a button.
Palm Beach said it won’t finish its recount by the Thursday deadline. And in oft-criticized Broward County, additional sheriff’s deputies were sent to guard ballots and voting machines, even though a judge said no Republican who has publicly alleged fraud in the county’s process – a list that includes President Donald Trump and Gov. Rick Scott – has presented any evidence to law enforcement.
White House spokeswoman Mercedes Schlapp said Tuesday the president “obviously has his opinion” on the recount. Trump on Monday tweeted that “An honest vote count is no longer possible” in Florida, without elaborating, and said “new ballots showed up out of nowhere.” It was unclear what he was referring to. He demanded that the election night results – which showed the Republicans leading based upon incomplete ballot counts – be used to determine the winner.
“It’s been incredibly frustrating to watch. You have a 12,000-vote gap and the other candidate refuses to concede,” Schlapp said, referring to Scott’s opponent, incumbent Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson. “So I think at this point that it’s going to go through the process of the manual recount and the machine recount and we’ll see what happens, but we’re confident that Rick Scott will be the next senator of Florida.”