Nov 15, 2018

Florida counties reach recount deadline in contested races

Khorri Atkinson

Palm Beach County election officials prepare to recount ballots on Thursday in West Palm Beach, Florida. Photo: Michele Eve Sandberg/AFP/Getty Images

Election officials in Florida have reached a Thursday afternoon deadline to complete a statewide machine recount in three contested elections for Senate, governor and agriculture commissioner, AP reports. But Palm Beach has missed the mandated deadline, which election officials said was due to technical issues with the county's out-of-date machines.

Why it matters: This comes just minutes after a federal judge rejected a request sought by Democrats to suspend Thursday's 3 p.m. deadline — a significant defeat for Democrat Bill Nelson, who sought the request and is trailing behind Republican Gov. Rick Scott in a tight Senate race. The results will be certified Tuesday.

Details: Nelson's lawsuit had initially sought to prevent the state from dismissing contested mail ballots that were flagged for signature problems.

But in another ruling, a federal judge said the more than 4,000 voters in 45 of Florida’s 67 counties whose mailed-in and provisional ballots were rejected have until Saturday at 5 p.m. to “cure” the issue. It's unclear how many disputed ballots are in the remaining 22 counties.

Update [4:20pm]: Marc Elias, Nelson's lead recount lawyer, said a suit has been filed to require a hand count of all ballots in the Palm Beach County due to machine failure during the recount.

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Florida counties reach recount deadline in contested races

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