Florida’s Midterm Elections were Consumed by Turmoil on Thursday as Uncounted Votes cast doubt over the Results Governor and U.S. Senate. The eyes of the State, and Nation, were on Broward County, where Thousands of Ballots were still being Counted Two days after Election Day.
Republican former Gov. Rick Scott whose Senate Campaign Filed a Lawsuit late Thursday in Broward County Circuit against the County’s Elections Supervisor Brenda Snipes. Broward County Results reveal Questionable Voting Patterns.
In the U.S. Senate Race, Republican Rick Scott and Democratic Bill Nelson were separated by just 15,074 Votes of 8.2 Million Cast. Scott had 50.04% to Incumbent Nelson’s 49.96%, with around 24,000 Votes still Not Counted.
Among the Questions: Why did nearly 25,000 People Vote for Governor but not for U.S. Senate in Broward County? A Common Theory was that because of the Way the Broward Ballot was Designed, with the Senate Race in the Left-Hand Lower Column below the Instructions, some Voters Missed the Contest. The other is some Machines missed Counting Selections from that Position. It would take a Manual Count to find this Error.
Attorney Marc Elias, a High-Profile National Election Lawyer representing Nelson, said it’s Unusual that More People would Vote in Races for Attorney General and Chief Financial Officer than for the U.S. Senate Race. He doesn’t think Ballot Design was the Issue, and a Manual Recount could Reveal Problems in Broward that could affect the Senate Results.
Everything that happens at the Canvassing Boards is under Scrutiny, something that will spread throughout the State once, as appears likely, Full-Scale Recounts are Ordered. The League of Women Voters of Florida said Thursday it has Members Monitoring Elections Canvassing Boards “to promote transparency and help keep citizens informed of the progress and process.”
On Thursday Evening, tempers flared when Broward’s Canvassing Board began considering Provisional Ballots Cast by Voters who were Not Listed as Eligible to Vote. The Elections Office found 205 of the more than 600 were in fact Eligible. Republican and Democratic Representatives started Arguing about how to Handle them.
Democrats and Groups that Support the Party’s Candidates scrambled throughout the day to get People who Cast Provisional Ballots on Tuesday to Act to make sure their Ballots would be Counted by the 5pm Deadline. Democratic Party Offices in Fort Lauderdale, Miramar, and Plantation were used as War Rooms where Volunteers attempted to Track Down People who Voted Provisionally.
Provisional Ballots are given to Voters whose Eligibility could Not be Determined at the Polls, such as Someone who might Not have Proper Identification. A Crew Researched Provisional Ballots overnight Thursday and they would go to the Canvassing Board on Friday.
More than 707,021 People Voted for Governor in Broward in Tuesday’s Election, while more than 682,073 Voters Cast Ballots for Senate, Preliminary County Election Results showed. More People in Broward Voted for the State’s Commissioner of Agriculture, Chief Financial Officer, and Attorney General than they did for the Senate, according to the Preliminary County Results.
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