Protests erupt over possible recounts in extremely close Florida elections
LAUDERHILL, Fla. — Recount mania overtook Florida on Friday, harkening back to the national drama of the 2000 presidential election as lawyers marched into court on two ends of the state, protesters demanded the ouster of a local elections official in the state’s second-largest county, and a trickle of ballots continued to be tallied.
Protesters, many of them carrying signs supportive of President Donald Trump, gathered outside the office of the Broward County supervisor of elections in Lauderhill as the local canvassing board prepared to meet. The demonstrators called for the removal of Brenda Snipes, an elected Democrat whose office has a history of problematic elections, chanting, “Lock her up!”
On Twitter, the president accused Democrats of sending “their best Election stealing lawyer” to Broward County.
“Don’t worry, Florida — I am sending much better lawyers to expose the FRAUD! ”Mr. Trump wrote.
The president and protesters echoed Gov. Rick Scott, the Republican nominee for Senate, who late Thursday sued Ms. Snipes and another elected Democrat, Susan Bucher, the elections supervisor of neighboring Palm Beach County, accusing them of failing to transparently report voting results. “Rampant fraud” was underway, Mr. Scott charged from the steps of the Governor’s Mansion in Tallahassee, the state capital.
At issue are several extremely close election contests — including the race for Senate and for the governor of Florida — whose outcomes depend on the final vote counts now underway. It is likely that recounts will be ordered Saturday in both races, as well as in the vote for state agriculture commissioner.
In their lawsuit, Mr. Scott’s campaign and the National Republican Senatorial Committee offered no evidence of fraud. But they did cite concerns that outside observers were not being allowed to monitor the review of ballots, including copies made of damaged absentee ballots and ballots faxed in by military service members from overseas.
“The lack of transparency raises substantial concerns about the validity of the election process,” they said in a separate petition to the court.
On Friday morning, Judge Krista Marx of the 15th Judicial Circuit in Palm Beach County expressed frustration that Republican lawyers had not raised concerns earlier. Still, Judge Marx ruled from the bench to grant a request by Mr. Scott’s lawyer that any ballot deemed defective by local elections officials make its way to the canvassing board for a final determination of its validity.
Then, on Friday afternoon, a judge in Broward County, Carol-Lisa Phillips, found that the county elections supervisor had violated public records laws and ordered the release of all available information on absentee ballot status and early voting, as well as on the number of ballots cast, the number counted and the number yet to be counted.
“This is information that should have already been compiled,” Judge Phillips said. “It should be a matter of public record at this point.”