At least three of Florida’s key political races may see a recount following the midterm elections.
Not all ballots cast have been counted yet, according to the Miami Herald.
The races that are within the margin of error to trigger a recount include the U.S. Senate between Democrat Bill Nelson and Republican Rick Scott, the Florida governor race between Democrat Andrew Gillum and Republican Ron DeSantis and the Florida agricultural commissioner race between Democrat Nikki Fried and Republican Matt Caldwell.
As of 11 p.m. Thursday, the closest race was for agricultural commissioner, with Fried leading Caldwell by 2,915 votes, according to the Herald.
The Senate race showed Scott leading Nelson by 15,071 votes as of 11 p.m. Thursday, according to The New York Times. The governor’s race showed DeSantis leading Gillum by about 30,000 votes.
Scott is suing South Florida election officials, according to the Tampa Bay Times. Scott filed suit against Broward County Elections Supervisor and Palm Beach County Elections Supervisor.
Scott sued not as governor of Florida, but as a candidate for the U.S. Senate.
The recounting process cannot begin until the unofficial results from each county are submitted to the state elections office, according to the Miami Herald. These unofficial results are due by noon Saturday.
Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner is required to order a machine recount if the margin in a statewide race is less than 0.5 percent, according to the Herald. If the recount is ordered, the second round of unofficial results must be submitted to the state elections office by 3 p.m. Thursday.
“Every vote must be counted - and, counted accurately,” tweeted the Bill Nelson campaign.
In the meantime, those who want to help the volunteers recounting ballots can send pizza, said Megan Newsome, a 22-year-old co-plaintiff on the lawsuit to allow early voting on college campuses in Florida.
Newsome, who is on the mailing list for the Alachua County Supervisor of Elections, received an email asking for volunteers to help with the recount effort Thursday, she said.
But Newsome cannot volunteer for the 12-hour shift, she said.
“I think it’s really understated how important this is,” Newsome said. “We don’t really take into account how strenuous this is for every local supervisor of elections.”
The people who do volunteer will be under strict scrutiny when deciding what is considered a filled in bubble or a matching signature, Newsome said. She suggested for people who cannot volunteer to send a pizza to those working to check ballots.
“Just the little things can really add to morale,” Newsome said.
Contact Gillian Sweeney at gsweeney@alligator.org and follow her on Twitter at @gilliangsweeney
