Republican Gov. Rick Scott called for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to investigate what he claims is voter fraud in Broward and Palm Beach Counties.
Scott, who is in a tight race against incumbent Bill Nelson for his US Senate seat, didn’t provide specific examples of the fraud.
He briefed reporters at the Governor’s Mansion in a hastily called news conference Thursday night.
“I am considering every single legal option available. No ragtag group of liberal activists or lawyers from D.C. will be allowed to steal this election from the voters of this great state. I am proud to be the next Senator from the Great State of Florida and look forward to going up there and making Washington work for all Americans,” Scott said.
Scott filed suit against the Broward and Palm Beach Elections Supervisors for their failure to meet a state deadline of 7:30 p.m. on election night to report early and mail ballot totals.
As of Friday morning, Scott was ahead of Sen. Bill Nelson by 15,027 votes, according to the Florida Division of Elections website. On election night, he was ahead by at least 50,000.
Florida law calls for an automatic recount if the margin of victory is 0.5 percent or less. If the margin is 0.25 percent or less after the machine recount, a manual recount is conducted.
Dan McLaughlin released the following statement on behalf of Nelson: “The goal here is to see that all the votes in Florida are counted and counted accurately. Rick Scott’s action appears to be politically motivated and borne out of desperation.”
Supervisor of Elections Offices in Hillsborough and Pinellas Counties will canvas more ballots Friday. It’s simply part of the process, they said.
Click here to read the suit filed against Brenda Snipes, Supervisor of Elections in Broward County.
