Florida's first-ever manual ballot recount is looking more possible by the minute as the margin of votes narrows between U.S. Senate candidates Rick Scott and Bill Nelson. Also, the race for governor could head toward a machine recount - even after Democrat Andrew Gillum conceded to Republican Ron DeSantis Tuesday night.
Scott is calling for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to investigate alleged mishandling of ballots in Broward and Palm Beach Counties, where ballots are still being counted. Broward County was the epicenter of the "hanging chad" debacle of the 2000 presidential election.
"The governor is totally off-base," said Yudy Barbera, chair of the Collier County Democratic Party. "As the government, we should always be fighting for things to be clear, to be transparent, and every vote should count."
But Scott Lepore, a past president of the Collier County Republican Club, supports Governor Scott's call for a state investigation. He'd also like to see President Donald Trump appoint a temporary supervisor of elections for Broward and Palm Beach Counties.
"What we're seeing on the other coast is incompetence," Lepore said. "They're incompetent and they're unable to properly count ballots. I would think that the people of Florida are getting real sick and tired of this."
All 67 Florida counties must submit their unofficial vote returns by Saturday afternoon, after which the Florida Secretary of State will decide whether to order any recounting of ballots.
