Recount chaos: Rick Scott says Palm Beach official flouting court order

The Rick Scott for U.S. Senate campaign is accusing Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Susan Bucher of refusing to comply with a court order issued earlier Friday.

But Bucher says she just won’t be able to meet that deadline, according to WPBF’s Terri Parker. The ballots were to be provided to the county canvassing board.

Circuit Judge Krista Marx issued an order requiring Bucher to submit “overvoted” and “undervoted” absentee ballots for public review prior to the votes being counted.

Scott’s race against U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson appears to be headed to a recount, highlighting the importance of county officials’ oversight of the process.

Those ballots were to be provided to the county canvassing board. Now, Bucher says she won’t be able to meet that deadline, according to WPBF’s Terri Parker.

The Scott campaign issued a scathing statement in response.

“Tonight, Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Susan Bucher announced that she is refusing to comply with a court order to submit overvotes and undervotes to the Palm Beach County Canvassing Board for review under the court-ordered deadline,” said Chris Hartline, a Scott spokesperson.

“Susan Bucher has consistently refused to follow state law and comply with legally required deadlines and regulations. Whether it’s gross incompetence or intentional disregard for the rule of law is irrelevant at this point. Either way, it is embarrassing and unacceptable.”

The news comes the same night Broward County complied with a separate order from another judge, requiring Supervisor of Elections Brenda Snipes to submit to the Scott campaign the county’s tally of ballots received and counted.

Scott’s team said they have received documents from Snipes’ office, and are reviewing them to ensure they are complete.