As the margins tighten in key Florida races, Supervisors of Elections are meeting across the Tampa Bay area to prepare for a possible statewide recount.
We’re paying close attention to four main races with candidates each taking their fights into overtime.
The U.S. Senate between Bill Nelson and Rick Scott. Scott has claimed victory, but Nelson hasn’t conceded.
In the Florida Senate District 18 race, Democrat Janet Cruz has claimed victory over incumbent Republican Dana Young, but with the margin so slim it will likely go to a recount.
The same goes for the Commissioner of Agriculture race between Nikki Fried and Matt Caldwell and the race for Florida’s next governor. While Republican Ron DeSantis claimed victory Tuesday Democrat Andrew Gillum’s camp is preparing for a possible recount as the gap between the two has narrowed.
The candidates aren’t the only ones preparing for a recount, Supervisors of Elections are too.
The group of people in charge of making sure everything is ready for a recount in each county is called a canvassing board.
Every county has a canvassing board, and they are all meeting at different times to prepare for a recount.
Thursday, the Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections held its meeting at 5 p.m. It was a packed house as people interested in the results of Florida’s key races were in attendance.
Normally a canvassing board is made up of a supervisor of elections, a judge and a chair of the county commission but in Hillsborough County, it’s two judges and the supervisor of elections.
Thursday night after the board met, poll workers, stayed after to count provisional and mail-in ballots.
Here’s the timeline for what’s next.
All statewide results have to be reported to the state elections office before a recount can be ordered, that includes mail-in and provisional ballots
The deadline for those unofficial ballots to be turned into the state is noon on Saturday. If a recount is ordered the process can take days.
Hillsborough’s canvassing board will be meeting again Friday at 3:30 p.m. to continue recounting. The results from Thursday will be posted on their website as soon as they are finished counting.
Approximately 850 more provisional ballots need to be counted Friday
If a state recount is ordered, the Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections hopes to start that process on Sunday.
The deadline for county Supervisor of Elections to send all ballots to the state is Nov. 18. The deadline for the votes to be certified by the state is November 20.
Canvassing Boards for other counties will meet as follows:
- Citrus is set for 8:30 a.m. on Sunday unless they are otherwise instructed by the state.
- Pinellas 10 a.m. on Friday
- Hillsborough met at 5 p.m. Thursday.
- Pasco -The canvassing board will meet Friday at 1:00 p.m.
- Manatee met at 5 p.m. on Thursday.
- Hernando- Friday at 9 a.m.
- Sarasota- Thursday at 5 p.m.
Canvassing boards meetings for Polk, Hardee, Highlands weren’t made available by airtime.
