Palm Beach county supervisor says it’s ‘impossible’ to finish recount by deadline
By Emily Birnbaum - 11/11/18 05:26 PM EST
The Palm Beach County, Fla., elections supervisor says it is "impossible" to finish the three Florida election recounts by the Thursday deadline.
"It's impossible," Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Susan Bucher told CNN, responding to a question about whether officials would be able to finish the recount on time.
Palm Beach County is one of the most critical counties in the state, alongside Broward County.
The first round of machine recounts is supposed to be completed by Thursday, setting up a bitter fight to the finish in Florida’s races for Senate, governor and agriculture commissioner.
"If they're not able to meet the deadline, the secretary of state of Florida may go ahead and certify the elections for our candidates," Palm Beach County GOP Chairman Michael Barnett told CNN. "In that case, you can bet your butt there will be lawsuits filed everywhere."
Results of machine recounts in the Florida Senate, gubernatorial and agriculture commissioner races must be submitted by 3 p.m. on Thursday. If two candidates in any of those races are separated by a margin of 0.25 points or less after machine recounts, hand recounts are triggered.
CNN reported that both Republican and Democratic election overseers and attorneys seemed to agree that the Thursday deadline will be difficult to meet.
The most closely watched recount is the Senate race between incumbent Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) and Florida’s Republican Gov. Rick Scott, who is currently leading by a narrow margin.
The race for Florida governor is also heading to a recount after unofficial results showed Democrat Andrew Gillum and Republican Ron DeSantis eparated by roughly 0.41 points.
The races and subsequent recounts have been marred by highly-visible legal battles and accusations of malfeasance on both sides.
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/416158-palm-beach-county-supervisor-says-its-impossible-to-finish-recount-by
