RECOUNTS UNDERWAY IN FLORIDA
- In the Tampa Bay Area (and statewide), recounts are underway for U.S. Senator, Governor of Florida, Commissioner of Agriculture and Florida State Senate District 18
- U.S. Senator | Governor Rick Scott vs. Incumbent Democrat Bill Nelson
- Governor of Florida | Republican Ron DeSantis vs. Democrat Andrew Gillum
- Commissioner of Agriculture | Republican Matt Caldwell vs. Democrat Nikki Fried
- Florida State Senate, District 18 | Republican Incumbent Dana Young vs. Democrat Janet Cruz
- In the state of Florida, recounts are also underway for State House of Representatives District 26 and District 89
- State House of Representatives, District 26 | Republican Elizabeth Fetterhoff vs. Democrat Incumbent Petrick Henry
- State House of Representatives, District 89 | Republican Mike Caruso vs. Democrat Jim Bonfiglio
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — The Latest on the potential recounts in Florida’s U.S. Senate and governor elections (all times local):
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8 p.m. - Sunday
The Democratic candidate for Florida governor, Andrew Gillum, has told an overflow crowd at an African-American church that voter disenfranchisement isn't just about being blocked from the polling booth.
Gillum said Sunday evening that disenfranchisement also includes absentee ballots not being counted and ballots where "a volunteer may have the option of looking at that ballot and deciding that vote is null and void" because of a mismatched signature.
Gillum warned against vote suppression at the close of a day of mishaps, protests and litigation overshadowing the vote recounting in the pivotal races for governor and the U.S. Senate. Gillum has argued each vote should be counted and the process should take its course.
Unofficial results show that Republican former U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis led Gillum the Tallahassee mayor, by less than 0.5 percentage points. In the Senate race, Republican Gov. Rick Scott's lead over Democratic incumbent Bill Nelson is less than 0.25 percentage points.
6:15 p.m - Sunday
The recount of Florida's razor-thin Senate and gubernatorial races is off to a bumpy start with some mishaps and litigation, bringing back memories of the 2000 presidential fiasco.
Gov. Rick Scott, the Republican candidate for Senate, filed suit on Sunday against Brenda Snipes as Broward County's election supervisor. The suit asks a circuit court judge to order law enforcement agents to impound and secure the county's voting machines, tallying devices and ballots "when not in use until such time as any recounts."
The lawsuit says Snipes has failed to account for the number of ballots left to be counted and failed to report results regularly as required by law. The county is emerging as the epicenter of controversy in the recount.
The Florida secretary of state ordered the recounts to be completed by Thursday in all 67 Florida counties.
Unofficial results in the governor's race show Republican former U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis led Democratic Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum by less than 0.5 percentage points. In the Senate race, Scott's lead over Democratic incumbent Bill Nelson is less than 0.25 percentage points.
2:30 p.m. - Sunday
Delays and some mishaps have marked the start of the recount in Florida's razor-thin Senate and gubernatorial races.
The start of the recount in Florida's Democratic-leaning Broward County was delayed Sunday because of a problem with one of the tabulation machines. The Republican Party attacked Broward's supervisor of elections, Brenda Snipes, of "incompetence and gross mismanagement" following the delay, which was resolved within two hours.
The county, the state's second-most populous, is emerging as the epicenter of controversy in the recount.
Broward officials said they mistakenly counted 22 absentee ballots that had been rejected, mostly because the signature on the return envelope did not match the one on file. It is a problem that appears impossible to fix because the ballots were mixed in with 205 legal ballots. Snipes said it would be unfair to throw out all the ballots.
11:40 a.m. - Sunday
The recounting of Senate and gubernatorial ballots is underway in Florida's second most-populous county after it fixed problems with its machines.
Broward County began counting about 700,000 ballots Sunday after a more than two-hour delay caused by a tested machine that wasn't registering all ballots. Republican representatives asked that all machines be retested and county officials agreed.
The heavily Democratic county is one of two where Republicans have made allegations of possible ballot fraud. State elections and law enforcement officials say they have seen no evidence suggesting the allegations are true.
The Florida secretary of state ordered the recounts Saturday. The count must be completed by Thursday.
Unofficial results show that Republican former U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis led Democratic Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum by less than 0.5 percentage points. In the Senate race, Republican Gov. Rick Scott's lead over Democratic incumbent Bill Nelson is less than 0.25 percentage points.
9:40 a.m. - Sunday
The recounting of Senate and gubernatorial ballots has been delayed in Florida's second most-populous county because of problems with the machines.
Broward County is scheduled to begin counting about 700,000 ballots Sunday morning, but a tested machine wasn't registering all ballots. Republican representatives asked that all machines be retested and county officials agreed.
The heavily Democratic county is one of two where Republicans have made allegations of possible ballot fraud. State elections and law enforcement officials say they have seen no evidence suggesting the allegations are true.
The Florida secretary of state ordered the recounts Saturday. The count must be completed by Thursday.
Unofficial results show that Republican former U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis led Democratic Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum by less than 0.5 percentage points. In the Senate race, Republican Gov. Rick Scott's lead over Democratic incumbent Bill Nelson is less than 0.25 percentage points.
12:05 a.m. - Sunday
Elections workers are beginning to recount ballots in Florida's U.S. Senate and governor races under a state-ordered review of the two nationally watched races.
Miami-Dade County election officials began feeding ballots into scanning machines Saturday evening, among the first in Florida's 67 counties tasked with a Nov. 15 deadline to submit vote counts to the state.
The Florida secretary of state ordered the recounts Saturday.
Unofficial results show that Republican former U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis led Democratic Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum by less than 0.5 percentage points. In the Senate race, Republican Gov. Rick Scott's lead over Democratic incumbent Bill Nelson is less than 0.25 percentage points.
4:30 p.m. - Saturday
Republican Ron DeSantis says Florida election results are clear and he is moving forward as he prepares to be the state’s next governor.
“Those results are clear and unambiguous, just as they were on Election Night,” DeSantis, a former congressman, said in a video posted Saturday on YouTube by the Republican Party of Florida.
Unofficial election results submitted Saturday show DeSantis ahead of Democratic Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum by less than 0.5 percentage points. Under state law, that margin requires a machine recount of ballots.
While DeSantis said it’s important to follow state law, he added, “With the election behind us, it’s now time to come together as a state as we prepare to serve all Floridians.”
↓Watch↓
RELATED: Florida General Election recount timeline according to Department of State
Possible Florida Recounts: Everything you need to know
Down to the wire: Several Florida races including governor,senatorcould come down to recount
3:00 p.m. - Saturday
In a press conference, Andrew Gillum said, "Let me say clearly: I am replacing my words of concession with an uncompromised, and unapologetic call that we count every single vote."
↓Watch↓
I am replacing my earlier concession with an unapologetic and uncompromised call to count every vote.
— Andrew Gillum (@AndrewGillum) November 10, 2018
Unofficial election results showed Republican former U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis ahead of Gillum by less than 0.5 percentage points. Under state law, such a margin requires a machine recount of ballots.
2:56 p.m. - Saturday
Bill Nelson issued the following statement following the order.
“This process is about one thing: making sure every legal ballot is counted and protecting the right of every Floridian to participate in our democracy. Since Tuesday, the gap has shrunk from roughly 60,000 votes to about 12,500 – the margin has reduced by 78 percent and is now roughly .15 percent. We have every expectation the recount will be full and fair and will continue taking action to ensure every vote is counted without interference or efforts to undermine the democratic process. We believe when every legal ballot is counted we’ll win this election."
2:09 p.m. - Saturday
Following the announcement of the machine recount, President Donald Trump tweeted his thoughts.
Trying to STEAL two big elections in Florida! We are watching closely!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 10, 2018
1:55 p.m. - Saturday
The Florida secretary of state is ordering recounts in the U.S. Senate and governor races, an unprecedented review of two major races in the state that took five weeks to decide the 2000 presidential election.
Secretary Ken Detzner issued the order on Saturday after the unofficial results in both races fell within the margin that by law triggers a recount.
The unofficial results show that Republican former U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis led Democratic Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum by less than 0.5 percentage points, which will require a machine recount of ballots.
In the Senate race, Republican Gov. Rick Scott's lead over Democratic incumbent Bill Nelson is less than 0.25 percentage points, which will require a hand recount of ballots from tabulation machines that couldn't determine which candidate got the vote.
12:40 p.m. - Saturday
The deadline to submit unofficial vote tallies in Florida’s election has passed.
County elections supervisors had until noon Saturday to submit results. Now the state must announce whether recounts are needed in the U.S. Senate and governor races.
As the deadline arrived, Republican former U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis led Democratic Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum by less than 0.5 percentage points in the governor’s race, which would require a machine recount of ballots.
In the Senate race, Republican Gov. Rick Scott’s lead over Democratic incumbent Bill Nelson was less than 0.25 percentage points, which would require a hand recount of ballots in which tabulation machines couldn’t detect a vote.
