Broward County, Florida was once again thrust into the national spotlight this week over complaints of possible corruption and voter regularities following Tuesday’s high-stakes midterm elections.
“Lawyers are descending on Florida as the state braces once again to become ground zero in a national election fight, and the epicenter appears to be Broward County where late-arriving ballots in Democratic strongholds are fueling accusations of political shenanigans,” writes Fox News.
Senator Marco Rubio slammed county officials on social media Friday, saying Broward “still hasn’t finished & won’t disclose how many ballots are left.”
Early Voting in #BrowardCounty ended 108 hours ago. Every other county,including neighboring Miami-Dade (which had 100k more votes cast) was able to canvass,tabulate & report to state by deadline. But #Broward still hasn’t finished & won’t disclose how many ballots are left.
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 9, 2018
“The incompetence & the violation of #Florida reporting requirements by [Broward] elections dept could impact more than just the outcome. The last thing our already dangerously divided nation needs is an important election 1/2 our people believe was rigged by the other 1/2,” Rubio tweeted.
Read the full story at Fox News.
IT BEGINS: Andrew Gillum Urges Supporters to Contact ‘County Supervisors' after Midterms
Democratic candidate for Governor of Florida Andrew Gillum called on his supporters to contact County Supervisor’s Thursday; saying “every voice must be heard” in his race against the GOP’s Ron DeSantis.
“Every voice must be heard in this race! If you voted a provisional ballot, make sure your vote gets counted by contacting your County Supervisor of Elections by 5 PM TODAY,” Gillum posted on social media.
Every voice must be heard in this race! If you voted a provisional ballot, make sure your vote gets counted by contacting your County Supervisor of Elections by 5 PM TODAY. https://t.co/FCMBydAKll pic.twitter.com/3ASg5eXFH6
— Andrew Gillum (@AndrewGillum) November 8, 2018
“Gillum’s campaign stoked intrigue by releasing a statement about ‘counting every vote’ — but not explicitly asking for a recount,” writes NBC News.
Gillum conceded the election to DeSantis Tuesday night after results showed the Republican leading the Democratic by 49.6% to 49.1%.
DEMOCRAT DO-OVER? Liberal Senator Urges Activists to ‘Get Down to Florida’ if There’s No Recount
Democrat Senator Chris Murphy urged liberal activists across the country to “adjust their schedules” and “get down to Florida” if Republicans “stop all ballots from being counted.”
Murphy posted his comments on social media after state officials weighed a manual recount after Republican Rick Scott held a slight lead over Democrat Bill Nelson.
“Republicans will try to use the courts to shut down a full recount. Just get ready for this – adjust your schedules bc we may all have to get down to Florida if they try to to use the courts to stop all ballots from being counted,” tweeted the left-wing lawmaker.
Republicans will try to use the courts to shut down a full recount. Just get ready for this – adjust your schedules bc we may all have to get down to Florida if they try to to use the courts to stop all ballots from being counted. https://t.co/VSDSDfnEjE
— Chris Murphy 🟧 (@ChrisMurphyCT) November 8, 2018
The move echoes similar comments from Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum, who demanded that “every vote” be counted and urged supporters to contact their local County Supervisors.