Scott sues Broward elections head as Florida Senate race spirals toward recount
By Max Greenwood - 11/08/18 08:37 PM EST
Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) is suing Broward County Supervisor of Elections Brenda Snipes, alleging that her office has withheld crucial voter information as Scott's closely watched Senate race against Sen. Bill Nelson (D) spirals towards a recount.
The lawsuit, filed Thursday evening, accuses Snipes’s office of withholding records regarding how many people voted, how many ballots have been counted and how many more votes remain untallied in Broward.
“The lack of transparency raises substantial concerns about the validity of the election process,†the lawsuit reads. It demands an emergency hearing ahead of a critical noon Saturday deadline for county canvassing board to submit election results to the state Division of Elections.
The lawsuit comes as Florida election officials and candidates gear up for an increasingly likely recount in the Senate race between Scott and Nelson.
Scott appeared on Tuesday night to be the victor in that race. But as new vote tallies – mostly from Broward and Palm Beach counties – trickled in Wednesday and Thursday, Scott’s lead tightened considerably, putting the race in recount territory.
In Florida, if two candidates are within 0.5 points or less of each other, it triggers an automatic machine recount, while a margin of 0.25 points or less prompts a hand recount. As of Thursday night, Scott led Nelson by a mere 0.18 points – well within the margin for a hand recount.
In a hastily called news conference in Tallahassee on Wednesday night, Scott accused Snipes of having a “history of acting in bad faith†and called into the question where new vote tallies in Broward and Palm Beach counties were coming from.
“The people of Florida deserve fairness and they deserve transparency and the supervisor of elections is refusing to give it to us,†Scott said.
Dan McLaughlin, a spokesman for Nelson, said that the three-term senator wanted to pursue a recount to ensure that all legally-cast votes were counted and accused Scott of playing politics with his lawsuit.
“The goal here is to see that all the votes in Florida are counted and counted accurately," McLaughlin said in a statement. "Rick Scott’s action appears to be politically motivated and borne out of desperation.â€
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/415852-scott-sues-broward-supervisor-of-elections-as-florida-senate-race-spirals
