Florida gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum (D) on Thursday said that there are no partisan motives in the effort to recount votes following the midterm elections, saying the process is “democracy” as the state moves toward a recount in both the gubernatorial and Senate races.
Gillum tweeted a response to Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s lawsuit against Broward County Supervisor of Elections Brenda Snipes. Scott is the Republican candidate for Senate in the state.
“Mr. @FLGovScott — counting votes isn’t partisan — it’s democracy,” the former gubernatorial candidate tweeted Thursday night. “Count every vote.”
Mr. @FLGovScott — counting votes isn’t partisan — it’s democracy.
Count every vote.
— Andrew Gillum (@AndrewGillum) November 9, 2018
Scott’s Senate race against incumbent Sen. Bill NelsonClarence (Bill) William NelsonNASA, SpaceX and the private-public partnership that caused the flight of the Crew Dragon Lobbying world The most expensive congressional races of the last decade MORE (D) is likely heading toward a recount following Tuesday’s election, where Scott initially appeared victorious.
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His lead has narrowed considerably after new vote tallies — primarily from Broward and Palm Beach counties — came in on Wednesday and Thursday.
In the lawsuit, Scott accese Snipes 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,” his lawsuit reads.
Scott is claiming that there “may be rampant fraud happening in Palm Beach and Broward counties.”
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“The people of Florida deserve fairness and they deserve transparency and the supervisor of elections is refusing to give it to us,” Scott said.
“I will not sit idly by while unethical liberals try to steal this election,” he added.
Scott led Nelson by a mere 0.18 points on Thursday night, well within the 0.25-point margin that triggers a hand recount.
Nelson has not conceded the race and hired a prominent elections lawyer, Marc Elias, as his counsel through the possible recount proceedings.
Gillum, the mayor of Tallahassee, conceded defeat to former Rep. Ron DeSantisRonald Dion DeSantisGOP tentatively decides on Jacksonville for site of convention DeSantis pushing to host Republican National Convention in Florida Florida bars and theaters to reopen starting Friday, DeSantis says MORE (R) on Tuesday night but said he would be open to the possibility of asking for a recount on Thursday.
The most recent results show DeSantis leading Gillum by just 0.44 points.
“On Tuesday night, the Gillum for Governor campaign operated with the best information available about the number of outstanding ballots left to count. Since that time, it has become clear there are many more uncounted ballots than was originally reported. Our campaign, along with our attorney Barry Richard, is monitoring the situation closely and is ready for any outcome, including a state-mandated recount,” Gillum spokeswoman Johanna Cervone said in a statement.