Florida’s recounts - The votes that changed during the machine recounts Part 1
Bottom Line: Prior to the recounts starting in Florida's three statewide races and state races like House District 89 in Palm Beach County, I brought you a couple of really important numbers for context.
- 282 – The average number of votes that’d changed during a statewide recount since 2000
- 1247 – The most votes that’d ever changed during a statewide recount (Florida 2000)
With that bit of important perspective, it was never even remotely likely that Senator Nelson, Mayor Gillum or for that matter – State Rep Caldwell would be able to come up with the votes to close the gaps during the recounts. While you often heard about how tight these races were, and on a percentage basis that’s true, thousands of votes of separation – let alone tens of thousands – is harder than successfully hiking Mt. Everest. That’s been done many times. Overcoming these deficits hadn’t. Here’s how many votes actually changed hands during the recount process.
Governor’s race – DeSantis v Gillum:
Change during the machine recount: 1 vote
US Senate race – Nelson v Scott:
Change during the machine recount: 41 votes
Florida Agriculture Commissioner Caldwell v Fried:
Change during the machine recount: 64 votes
Yes, there’s the thing about Broward and Palm Beach Counties not meeting the deadline that would have altered these numbers a bit more but history once again points to how these races weren’t even remotely “close” by the time they made it to the recount. The average statewide change was just 35 votes.