Florida’s Mid-Term Elections: A Mess of Legal Actions

Once again, the land of alligators and oranges is the centre of one of the craziest election stories in another major election. November 7th was a surprise in of itself, as most polls had Democratic candidates such as Andrew Gillum and Bill Nelson in the leads of their races against Republicans Ron DeSantis and Former Governor Rick Scott respectively. Yet both lost the first count of votes by narrow margins. At first it seemed like Mr.DeSantis was on track to become the next Governor of Florida, while the race between Governor Rick Scott and Incumbent Senator Bill Nelson was valid for a recount.

However Floridas Secretary of State announced Saturday morning that both races were to be reviewed with multiple recounts across the state. After results showed both races fell under the .5 percent margin which, under Florida law, is grounds for a automatic recount of the election.

This shocking turn of events had Mr. Gillum rescind his concession against DeSantis in the election for the States next Governor.

The margins are however razor thin. And it’s not expected for either Democratic candidates to come ahead in either election by the recounts.

The fight to get the votes recounted has become increasingly heated. And is currently facing legal challenge. The Senate race between Governor Scott and his opponent Bill Nelson for Senate has been the most heated of the two races. Rick Scott came out swinging, saying, “Sen. Nelson is clearly trying to commit fraud to win this election, that’s all this is.” And has filed for an injunction against recounts in Broward County, which was struck down by a judge shortly after. Many, including Senator Bill Nelson, have called for Rick Scott to recuse himself from interfering in the recount process while he remains Governor of the state. And as of November 12th, Rick Scott has not recused himself from the recounts.

If the votes aren’t counted by Nov. 15th, they are simply not counted according to Florida law.

Both campaigns seem pressed to offer lawsuit after lawsuit. Republican lawsuits will attempt to preserve current voter counts, while Democrat lawsuits will be to expand the current voter pool. Both sides will use this recount either to remain the winner, or by some stroke of pure luck, win the election.

One thing Florida can expect until Nov 15th and after, is lawsuits galore.

The recent lawsuits after the election between Rick Scott and Bill Nelsons senatorial race has finally come to a closed after a judge tossed both the Scott-Nelson race lawsuit and the DeSantis-Gillum race lawsuit. Both Rick Scott and Ron DeSantis have remained the winners of their respective elections.