Like many of their counterparts across Florida, Hillsborough County elections officials are bracing for recounts.
The Hillsborough County Canvassing Board began the process of certifying unofficial election results Thursday night by canvassing provisional ballots along with mail-in ballots flagged for review.
“We’ve got some real thin races out here,” said Supervisor of Elections Craig Latimer. “Razor thin.”
It was standing room only as the board sifted through 442 provisional ballots and 211 mail-in ballots. Of those, more than half were accepted and later added to the county’s tabulations.
“There’s a huge myth out there that provisional ballots never get counted,” Latimer explained. “This was proof today that provisional ballots DO get counted.”
Latimer says the last thing he wants is to reject votes.
“My job is to get people registered to vote, and then to actually vote,” he said. “The last thing I want to say is that doesn’t count.”
Ballots were rejected for various reasons, including being cast in the wrong precinct, ballot signatures not matching voter information, and ballots cast by voters not registered to vote in this election.
Ashley Walker is the director of Super PAC For Our Future Florida. The group has spent the last two days ensuring provisional ballots are eligible.
“We’ve been calling voters that need signature matches, that need IDs, and making sure their votes are getting counted,” she said, after watching the board review ballot after ballot. “I do trust the process.”
Hillsborough County still has at least 850 provisional ballot to canvass. With at least four races within Latimer’s purview on the verge of a recount, it could take only one ballot to make all the difference.
The Canvassing Board has until noon Saturday to certify its first unofficial results. The board will resume canvassing Friday.
