DORAL, FLA. (WSVN) - The recount in the race for Florida’s Congressional District 27 continued on Tuesday.
Workers at the Office of the Supervisor of Elections of Miami-Dade County in Doral began counting the votes Monday morning, starting with Election Day ballots.
They started to count vote-by-mail ballots as they worked through Monday night, and they will finish with the early voting ballots.
The Republican incumbent, U.S. Rep., Maria Elvira Salazar, leads the race for the seat over her Democratic opponent, Eliott Rodriguez, by less than half a percent.
Minutes before the recount was set to begin on Monday morning, U.S. District Judge David S. Leibowitz denied the Rodriguez campaign’s motion to remove Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections Alina Garcia from the recount process.
Rodriguez alleged bias and conflict of interest.
“We are obviously disappointed,” said J.C. Planas, the attorney representing Rodriguez’s campaign.
On election night, Garcia reportedly told The Miami Herald that Salazar was the winner of the race “with or without a recount.”
Her office later clarified that since the voting process is so secure, it is unlikely a recount would change the numbers.
In court Monday, Leibowitz allowed Garcia’s involvement while also criticizing the comments.
“It was pretty obvious that the judge saw that the statement to the press was egregious. In fact, the judge even called the statement stupid,” said Planas.
Another conflict of interest raised by Rodriguez, a former news broadcaster, is that Garcia’s son-in-law actively serves as Salazar’s lawyer in the recount process.
“There is no legal basis. It is absolutely meritless. There is no conflict of interest,” said Robert Fernandez, Garcia’s son-in-law.
Leibowitz disagreed with Rodriguez’s argument, saying the checks and balances put in place during elections make the chances that a recount could yield a different result highly improbable.
“Our case was not about Eliott Rodriguez, it was not about Maria Salazar, it wasn’t even about Alina Garcia. It was about making sure that we draw a line to ensure that those that are responsible for maintaining our democracy do everything possible to show impartiality,” said Planas.
Another South Florida race ended Monday afternoon, as the Associated Press ultimately declared Mario Diaz-Balart will keep his seat in Congressional District 26.
The 12-term incumbent beat Democrat Nicole Locklin in a tight race that did not end with a recount.
Officials said the recount in District 27 is expected to wrap up at around noon on Tuesday.
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