Gov. Scott Orders Probe Into Elections Fraud In 2 Counties

TALLAHASSEE, FL — Gov. Rick Scott was visibly angry as he entered the impromptu press conference on the front porch of the governor's mansion last night and announced he is ordering an investigation into the supervisor of elections offices in Palm Beach and Broward counties for what he described as "rampant fraud."

With U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson inching ahead in votes for the Senate race in those two counties, Scott is accusing "unethical" liberal elections officials of trying to steal the election away from him.

"I will not sit idly by while unethical liberals try to steal this election from the great people of Florida," Scott said. "No ragtag group of liberal activists or lawyers from D.C. will be allowed to steal this election from the voters in the state of Florida."

Yesterday, as Nelson continued gaining votes from mail-in and provisional ballots in Palm Beach and Broward counties, Scott filed suit against the elections supervisors of those counties and called for an investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement into Broward County's elections office.

"The Broward Supervisor of Elections Brenda Snipes has a history of acting in bad faith," Scott said. "As you will recall, a judge ruled just this year that the office violated both state and federal laws by illegally destroying ballots in 2016."

The lawsuit stems from the elections supervisors allegedly refusing to release voting tabulations. Scott also blasted Palm Beach County for keeping observers of the ballot recount process at a distance.

On election night, with a .4 percent lead, Scott declared himself the winner of the Senate race. But after verifying provisional ballots (those in which the voters didn't have proper identification or voted at the wrong polling place) and counting mail-in ballots around the state, there was only a 15,092-vote difference between the two candidates, a .18 percent margin.

"Their goal is to keep mysteriously finding votes until the election turns out the way they want," Scott said. "Left-wing activists have been coming up with more and more ballots out of nowhere."

Democrats were quick to respond, accusing Scott of unfairly using the governor's podium to sway the elections.

"Rick Scott's action appears to be politically motivated and borne out of desperation," said Nelson campaign spokesman Dan McLaughlin.

In the meantime, President Trump took to Twitter to voice his disapproval of the recount process in Florida, calling it a "big corruption scandal."

Image via Scott for Florida

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