This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/nov/09/florida-georgia-midterms-recounts-irregularities
The article has changed 7 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Florida and Georgia prepare for recounts amid claims of irregularities | Florida and Georgia prepare for recounts amid claims of irregularities |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Florida and Georgia were preparing for ballot recounts on Friday, as contentious races for the US Senate and state governorships descended into controversy amid Republicans’ accusations of Democratic vote tampering, and counter-questions about potentially confusing ballot papers. | |
| The Florida candidates for Senate – current governor Rick Scott, a Republican, and Democrat Bill Nelson – were separated by just 15,000 votes on Friday morning, which could lead to a recount. The governors’ elections in Florida and Georgia were almost as close, raising the possibility of a further recount and a possible runoff election respectively. | The Florida candidates for Senate – current governor Rick Scott, a Republican, and Democrat Bill Nelson – were separated by just 15,000 votes on Friday morning, which could lead to a recount. The governors’ elections in Florida and Georgia were almost as close, raising the possibility of a further recount and a possible runoff election respectively. |
| Florida’s Senate race was thrown into chaos on Thursday night when Scott, without providing evidence, accused “unethical liberals” of attempting to “steal this election”. | Florida’s Senate race was thrown into chaos on Thursday night when Scott, without providing evidence, accused “unethical liberals” of attempting to “steal this election”. |
| In a press conference at the governor’s mansion Scott said he had filed two lawsuits against election supervisors in the traditionally Democratic-leaning Broward county and Palm Beach. Scott suggested election supervisors there may have been trying to inflate the Democratic vote. | In a press conference at the governor’s mansion Scott said he had filed two lawsuits against election supervisors in the traditionally Democratic-leaning Broward county and Palm Beach. Scott suggested election supervisors there may have been trying to inflate the Democratic vote. |
| Nelson’s campaign said Scott’s impromptu investigation was “politically motivated”. Scott is just 0.2% in front of Nelson in the Senate race – 15,071 votes ahead out of more than 8.1m cast. | Nelson’s campaign said Scott’s impromptu investigation was “politically motivated”. Scott is just 0.2% in front of Nelson in the Senate race – 15,071 votes ahead out of more than 8.1m cast. |
| As Scott announced his lawsuits, questions began to be asked about ballot papers which did not clearly indicate how to vote in the Senate election. | As Scott announced his lawsuits, questions began to be asked about ballot papers which did not clearly indicate how to vote in the Senate election. |
| CNN reported that nearly 25,000 voters in Broward county had cast a vote for governor but not for one of the Senate candidates – a discrepancy that CNN said was not matched in other counties. | CNN reported that nearly 25,000 voters in Broward county had cast a vote for governor but not for one of the Senate candidates – a discrepancy that CNN said was not matched in other counties. |
| Photos shared on Twitter showed that on the ballot papers in Broward county the section where voters could opt for Scott or Nelson was located in the bottom left of the ballot, beneath instructions on how to vote. In other counties the section for Scott and Nelson was presented more prominently at the top of the ballot. Broward county leans heavily Democratic, meaning the different ballots could have resulted in fewer votes for Nelson. | Photos shared on Twitter showed that on the ballot papers in Broward county the section where voters could opt for Scott or Nelson was located in the bottom left of the ballot, beneath instructions on how to vote. In other counties the section for Scott and Nelson was presented more prominently at the top of the ballot. Broward county leans heavily Democratic, meaning the different ballots could have resulted in fewer votes for Nelson. |
| Scott’s lawsuits came as Andrew Gillum, the Democratic candidate for Florida governor, said he was preparing for a recount in the state and had hired attorney Barry Richard, who represented George Bush in the 2000 recount. Gillum conceded to his opponent, Ron DeSantis, on Tuesday, but as more votes have been counted the race has narrowed. Gillum was 0.4% behind DeSantis on Friday morning, with 99.98% of the vote counted. | Scott’s lawsuits came as Andrew Gillum, the Democratic candidate for Florida governor, said he was preparing for a recount in the state and had hired attorney Barry Richard, who represented George Bush in the 2000 recount. Gillum conceded to his opponent, Ron DeSantis, on Tuesday, but as more votes have been counted the race has narrowed. Gillum was 0.4% behind DeSantis on Friday morning, with 99.98% of the vote counted. |
| “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,” Gillum’s campaign said. “We are committed to ensuring every single vote in Florida is counted.” | “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,” Gillum’s campaign said. “We are committed to ensuring every single vote in Florida is counted.” |
| In Georgia the Republican candidate for governor, Brian Kemp, has claimed victory over Democrat Stacey Abrams. Kemp leads Abrams with 50.3% of the vote and has claimed victory, but Abrams, who is bidding to become the first female black governor in the US, has yet to concede, saying that some votes have not yet been counted. | |
| If Kemp wins less than 50% of the vote that would trigger an automatic runoff election in December. | If Kemp wins less than 50% of the vote that would trigger an automatic runoff election in December. |
| Neither the Associated Press nor CNN have called the race. | Neither the Associated Press nor CNN have called the race. |
| Meanwhile, in Arizona’s Senate race, Democrat Kyrsten Sinema took a minuscule lead of about 9,000 out of 1.9 million votes counted after trailing since Tuesday. The race remained too close to call with at least 400,000 ballots still uncounted. | Meanwhile, in Arizona’s Senate race, Democrat Kyrsten Sinema took a minuscule lead of about 9,000 out of 1.9 million votes counted after trailing since Tuesday. The race remained too close to call with at least 400,000 ballots still uncounted. |
| US midterms 2018 | US midterms 2018 |
| US politics | US politics |
| Florida | Florida |
| Georgia | Georgia |
| Republicans | Republicans |
| Democrats | Democrats |
| news | news |
| Share on Facebook | Share on Facebook |
| Share on Twitter | Share on Twitter |
| Share via Email | Share via Email |
| Share on LinkedIn | Share on LinkedIn |
| Share on Pinterest | Share on Pinterest |
| Share on Google+ | Share on Google+ |
| Share on WhatsApp | Share on WhatsApp |
| Share on Messenger | Share on Messenger |
| Reuse this content | Reuse this content |