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After tweeting that "law enforcement is investigating another big corruption scandal related to election fraud at #Broward and Palm Beach," President Donald Trump has criticized the handling of ballots.
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Dr. Brenda Snipes, left, Broward County Election Supervisor, watches a ballot with Betsy Benson, Chair of the Canvas Council, at a Canvas Council meeting on Friday, November 9, 2018 at Lauderhill, Florida. there will be stories in the fierce and close race in the US Senate between Republican Gov. Rick Scott and incumbent Democrat Bill Nelson; and in the governor's race between former Republican Ron DeSantis and Tallahassee mayor Andrew Gillum. (AP Photo / Joe Skipper) ORG XMIT: FLJS106(Photo: Joe Skipper, AP)
WASHINGTON – A few days ago, many Americans knew who would be elected after Tuesday's midterm elections.
But things have evolved more slowly in many states because of extremely lean breeds. Some Republicans claim electoral fraud. Democrats are committed to ensuring that every vote is counted.
The increasingly tense situations in Florida and Arizona have resulted in lawsuits, demonstrations, possible recounts and even comments from President Donald Trump.
The tight races for the Arizona Senate, as well as the Florida governor and Senate, have tightened over the days. more ballots were counted. But legal quarrels have made bitter races bitter and sour in a divided country.
"It's incredibly unsettling," said David Becker, a former voting rights advocate with the Department of Justice. "These counties have not even finished counting ballots – it's all about victory and not about fraud, but it's about delegitimizing our own democracy."
The drama in Florida
Welcome to the Sunshine State, where live the spectacular elections.
The increasingly tense race between Republican Rick Scott and Democrat Bill Nelson in the Florida Senate race sparked lawsuits from both candidates. All but two counties have finished counting ballots, but these counties have squeezed Scott 's lead margin in the race from 60,000 to about 15,000.
Scott has sued the county, alleging "widespread fraud" that strongly favors Democrats. Scott asked for an inquiry and asked if the counties led by the Democrats had taken longer to count the votes to try to inflate the Democratic vote.
Florida Governor and Senate candidate Rick Scott said he was asking the Florida Law Enforcement Department to investigate the Palm Beach County election offices. and Broward, wondering if they were trying to inflate the vote of Democrats. (November 9)
AP
It did not include any evidence of the charges, but the message was circulated to Republicans across the state, even going as far as the White House.
"Rick Scott had over 50,000 votes on Election Day, and now they have" found "a lot of votes and only 15,000 votes." "The effect Broward." How is it that they never find Republican voices? ", Said Friday President Donald Trump on Twitter.
The lawsuit led Friday to a Broward County Circuit judge who ordered Brenda Snipes, Broward County election supervisor, to release the documents requested by Scott and the National Republican Senator's campaign committee regarding vote. The decision did not include anything on the charges of fraud.
The Broward County Solicitor Committee was scheduled to meet early in the afternoon and about 30 Republican protesters gathered outside at around noon.
"Do not steal our election!", They shouted. Songs alternated between them, including "The Star-Spangled Banner" and the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance.
The Palm Beach County Solicitation Council still reviews ballot papers with irregularities three days after the mid-term elections (November 11).
AP
In the race for governor, the campaign of the democrat Andrew Gillum is preparing for a possible recount. Gillum conceded Republican Ron DeSantis Tuesday night, although the race has tightened since. DeSantis led Gillum by 0.47 percentage point on Thursday afternoon. This is below the 0.5% threshold for a recount.
The deep purple state will learn Saturday whether there will be recounts in both races when an unofficial count of votes will be due.
Arizona catches Trump's attention
Martha McSally and Kyrsten Sinema, US Senate Nominees (Photo: The Republic)
A similar scene takes place in Arizona, where the results continue to pour in the Senate race between Republican Martha McSally and Democrat Kyrsten Sinema, closing an already tight race.
McSally took the lead but Sinema, on Friday night, had a lead of over 21,000 votes.
Yet 266,000 the ballots must be counted.
In the middle of the count, Republicans accused the state of election fraud, alleging that there were voting irregularities. They did not provide any proof of the claims.
President Donald Trump fueled fears over the problems, calling the process corrupt and questioning the need for new elections.
"In Arizona, the signatures do not match," the president wrote on Twitter. "Electoral Corruption – Call for a new election? We must protect our democracy!
Candidates for the US Senate seat in Arizona are only separated by one percentage point.
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McSally, Sinema and their allies have invested tens of millions of dollars in advertising to help lock the siege. Although Republicans have maintained control of the Senate in this week's mid-term elections, any seat elected by a Democrat would push their low margin.
On Friday morning, Arizona's Republican Party accused Maricopa County Clerk, Adrian Fontes, of "premeditated destruction of evidence" after "election irregularities" during the elections.
Local Republicans filed lawsuits against Fontes and other county registrars for verification of signatures during certain ballots.
Fontes argued that signature verification ensures that all legitimate votes are counted. Republicans say this practice is inconsistent, as other county clerks do not try to check ballot papers with inconsistent signatures after polling day.
The rumors of electoral fraud in Arizona have been ringing in the discussions between the radio and the Republican groups on Facebook on Thursday night and Friday morning, while some people perpetuated the idea that the reversal of the advance of McSally was the result of a fraudulent or unfair process.
Why accounts take so long?
Votes are still counted across the country but most Americans do not realize it because the races were not close enough and so have already been called.
The closer the race is, the longer it will take to determine the winner, Becker said.
There are a million reasons why ballots continue to be counted several days after the election. The postal votes, the provisional votes and the verification of the signature are among the most common causes of delay.
"I think people find it hard to realize that sometimes there are only tight elections," Becker said. "You can have a big state like Arizona or Florida where people are divided, and there is a process for that."
In Arizona, a large number of voters voted early. These must be verified by signature and opened by a bipartite office of election workers. This means that many last-minute ballots take days or even weeks to count.
In Florida, Broward County election officials added face-to-face ballots and mail-in ballots to the last-day vote count.
On Friday afternoon, Broward and Palm Beach counties were the only counties in the state to have not yet completed the count of the postal votes and reported them to the state, according to the Florida Department of State website. In addition to these, Broward had not yet fully reported the advance ballots to the state.
Becker said the delays are normal and anything but rare, evoking a Senate race in Minnesota, a Washington governor's race and, of course, Florida's decisive break-up in the 2000 presidential race.
He said that the use of the word fraud was dangerous and could have an impact on voters in the upcoming elections.
"As Americans, we do not want to win so much that we are ready to destroy our institutions to do it," he said. "Sometimes our candidate loses a race, which is how the process works and it's up to all of us to respect it."
Contributor: Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Jessica Boehm of the Republic of Arizona; Michael Collins of the United States TODAY & # 39; HUI; Associated press
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