'You Better Count Every Vote', Candidates Speak Out As Recount Begins
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) - As election departments across the state begin the process of recounting the votes from the 2018 midterm elections, the candidates whose races will be decided by the count are speaking out.
"Even if it takes you into the middle of next week, you better count every vote. We're not going to be shushed. We're not going to be sat down. We are not going to be ignored," said Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum during an address at New Mount Olive Baptist Church in Ft. Lauderdale.
Others have appealed to the courts.
"Senator Nelson is clearly trying to commit fraud by trying to win this election, that's all this is," said Republican Governor Rick Scott on Fox News.
Scott is challenging Nelson for his Senate seat. The governor has filed three lawsuits against election supervisors in Broward and Palm Beach counties, demanding to know what went wrong when it came to counting ballots.
The first suit claims Broward Supervisor of Elections Dr. Brenda Snipes counted a certain number of ballots after the noon deadline on Saturday.
"I've asked the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to do an investigation to find out what happened here, but we clearly know the judges have already said they clearly violated the law," said Scott.
The other two lawsuits request that law enforcement impound the voting tabulation equipment from Broward and Palm Beach after the machine recount is completed.
Democratic Senator Bill Nelson responded to Scott's actions with a statement.
"If Rick Scott wanted to make sure every legal ballot is counted, he would not be suing to try and stop voters from having their legal ballot counted as intended. He's doing this for the same reason he's been making false and panicked claims about voter fraud -- he's worried that when all the votes are counted he'll lose this election. We will not allow him to undermine the democratic process and will use every legal tool available to protect the rights of Florida voters."
On Tuesday, President Trump weighed in with Tweet from France.
The Florida Election should be called in favor of Rick Scott and Ron DeSantis in that large numbers of new ballots showed up out of nowhere, and many ballots are missing or forged. An honest vote count is no longer possible-ballots massively infected. Must go with Election Night!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 12, 2018
There is no basis for Trump's claims.
Gillum said Republicans are trying to limit the ballot results for a win.
"If you wonder why the President of the United States, the junior Senator of the United States, Mr. Rubio, and the sitting Governor of the state of Florida are fighting like you know what to stop a vote count that ought to tell you something," he said.
Gillum's opponent, Republican Ron DeSantis, chose to stay out of the fray over the weekend.
"It is important that everyone involved in the election process strictly adhere to the rule of law which is the foundation for our nation," he said.
Governor Scott's office has indicated that he and DeSantis met over the weekend to begin planning the transition.