GOP Sen. Rick Scott: Election results "should not be dealt with through the court system"
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) believes that the election results "should not be dealt with through the court system," something that the Trump campaign has signaled could happen if Florida is too close to call on election night.
Why it matters: In an interview on CNN's "State of the Union," host Jake Tapper questioned the senator whether the Republican strategy was to call into question the validity of remaining mail-in ballots. Florida is crucial for Trump's re-election and, earlier this month, Democrats have steadily outpaced Republicans in vote-by-mail ballots.
- Scott said he wants "to know the results that night," but the state is known to have legal battles over voting, most notably in 2000 when disputed votes were settled by the Supreme Court.
- "I'm sure you would agree that all ballots that have gotten there on time according to the state law should be counted?" Tapper asked, to which Scott said "yes."
State of play: Florida has been receiving a lot of attention in the final week of the election. Both Joe Biden and Kamala Harris campaigned throughout the state last week. Biden specifically focusing on Latino voters in the final stretch.
- Since 1996, every presidential candidate that has won Florida has won the election. President Trump continues to publicly attack mail-in-voting, calling it fraudulent and baselessly claiming the election will be "rigged."
Where it stands: "You gotta get your vote in, you can't wait until after Election Day," said Scott. Florida ballots must be back in the county elections headquarters by 7pm on Nov. 3. Late ballots are not accepted and postmarks do not count in the Sunshine State.
