Machine Recounts Underway At Tampa Bay Elections Offices

TAMPA BAY, FL -- It's no longer a race to win an election. It's a race against time.

Confronted with a Thursday deadline to count all midterm election votes in their counties, Tampa Bay supervisors of election are feeling the heat.

There was no quiet Sunday at home with the family for Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections Craig Latimer.

On Saturday, Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner called for automatic machine recounts for four races in which there was a half a percentage point margin between the candidates. That includes the statewide races between Gov. Rick Scott and U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, Ron DeSantis and Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, and state Rep. Matt Caldwell and Nikki Fried. Additionally, under Florida statutes, Latimer must recount the state Senate race between Janet Cruz and Dana Young.

So, Latimer and his staff showed up at the Robert L. Gilder Elections Service Center at 2515 N. Falkenburg Road, Tampa, promptly at 9 a.m. Sunday to begin scanning ballots. He said his staff will continue working from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day until every ballot has been scanned.

Similar scenes are taking place at supervisors of elections offices in Pinellas, Pasco, Polk, Sarasota and Manatee counties.

It's a tedious process. Each ballot has to be scanned at least once. If the machine detects votes for multiple candidates or no votes, it will alert the staff and the ballot will have to be scanned again.

To ensure the integrity of the process, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd has assigned two deputies to be present with Supervisor of Elections Lori Edwards and her staff at all times. And just so no one is accused of partisan politics, Judd said one deputy will be a Democrat and the other a Republican.

In all, Florida's 67 elections departments are charged with recounting 8.2 million ballots by 3 p.m. Thursday. Any contests still within a quarter of a percentage point will then undergo a hand recount.

Image via Pasco Supervisor of Elections

Video via Pasco Supervisor of Elections

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