Staff Reports
Florida’s latest recount drama: new players, issues
It has been 18 years since the state of Florida got rid of punch cards and ultimately replaced them with scanners or similar equipment. With no more hanging chads, what could go wrong?
Most of the country has moved on from the 2018 elections, but in Florida, we are in familiar territory. One week after the election, Florida is still counting votes.
By now, Brenda Snipes, the Broward County Supervisor of Elections, is a household name. The problems coming from Snipes’ office has been well documented, including a finding by a judge the office violated public records laws.
In Palm Beach County, Supervisor of Elections Susan Bucher said it would be “impossible” to meet a Thursday deadline to complete the recounts for Governor, U.S. Senator and Agriculture Commissioner. Without an extension, which the Secretary of State’s office says it is not empowered to give, she will have to certify the preliminary results posted Saturday.
This year finds an ugly atmosphere, especially in the Senate race. There was no statewide televised debate between Gov. Rick Scott and Sen. Bill Nelson, so they are making up for it during the recount period.
Scott is calling Nelson a “sore loser” who is “clearly trying to commit fraud to win this election.” Nelson demanded Scott recuse himself from any recount role saying Scott had “thrown around words like ‘voter fraud’ without any proof” and adding “the reason he’s doing these things is obvious: he’s worried that when all the votes are counted, he’ll lose the election.”
“Count all the votes” is the message coming from Democrats. This was fortified in an op-ed in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel titled Every Vote Should Count by Democratic Rep. Ted Deutch of Boca Raton.
Republicans are also on message by saying “every legal vote should count.” Republican Sen. Marco Rubio began tweeting up a storm, complaining about Broward and Palm Beach County, but added: “Every vote legally cast & received within the time frame required by law should be counted.”
Never one to be outdone, Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz mixed it up with snarky retorts to former Democratic Rep. Gwen Graham and former GOP Rep. David Jolly on Twitter. He recorded the point where he was removed from an area near Snipes’ office.
In the end, it is possible Scott will benefit from the work of graphic design as much as George W. Bush did in 2000. Some are blaming a design flaw in certain Broward ballots that may have led to a large undervote for the Senate race.
If that turns out to be the case, Democrats will turn on Snipes just as they did in 2004 when Palm Beach County voted out Theresa Lepore, who was responsible for the infamous “butterfly ballot” that many locals said cost Al Gore the 2000 election.
On Monday, Bush called for Snipes’ removal from office following the recounts. Bush appointed Snipes in 2003, and was subsequently re-elected, following Bush’s removal of Snipes’ predecessor Miriam Oliphant.
Republicans have an issue of their own with which to deal. Bay County Supervisor of Elections Mark Andersen confirmed to Florida Politics that he accepted more than 140 ballots either from email or by fax. The state expressly prohibits such practices as acceptable methods of voting, despite the impact of Hurricane Michael.
Andersen said he had a protocol in place for the verification of military and overseas ballots, and felt that would be an appropriate procedure to use with voters displaced by the storm. He let Detzner’s office know his intentions and did not wait for a reply.
There are still a few more days before something new crops up.
Trump’s strange week
With an iPhone and a Twitter account, things are never quiet when it comes to President Donald Trump. While the national media often waits breathlessly to report on his latest tweets, the president made news in different ways over the past few days.
After the press briefing room blowup with CNN’s Jim Acosta, the president criticized April Ryan, a frequent Trump critic, calling her a “loser.” During a gaggle before leaving for Paris Friday, CNN’s Abby Phillip questioned if he wants interim Attorney General Matthew Whitaker to “rein in Mueller,” a question Trump referred as “stupid.”
In Paris, the first scheduled event was a visit with allied leaders to the Alsne-Marne World War I cemetery, but Trump did not attend “due to scheduling and logistical difficulties caused by the weather.” He was roundly criticized for his absence including a harsh admonition from Nicholas Soames, the grandson of Winston Churchill, who described the president as “that pathetic, inadequate Donald Trump.”
With the deadly wildfires raging, Trump tweeted about the lack of forest management in California, concluding with a threat of “no more Fed payments!” Among others, the heads of two firefighters unions responded with heavy criticism of the remarks.
Perhaps the president heard because he sent another tweet Saturday praising recuse efforts and those affected. “God bless them all,” he said.
It was a strange week, even by Trump standards.
Two Floridians on Trump’s AG list
To the surprise of no one, Trump asked for the resignation of Attorney General Jeff Sessions on the morning after Election Day. The president appointed Whitaker, Sessions’ chief of staff, as the interim Attorney General, which brought controversies of its own.
The fear of impeding the election meddling investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller is at the top of the list.
All agree that Whitaker’s role will be temporary with the only question being “how long?” Several candidates are being mentioned for the permanent job with two having Florida roots.
Among those most prominently mentioned is Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi. She and Trump share a close personal relationship, but the specter of again raising the donation to Bondi’s campaign while the controversy of her office’s investigation into Trump University was ongoing would be a feature of any confirmation hearing.
Also under consideration is Secretary of Labor Alex Acosta. The native of Miami is a former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division, and was Dean of the Florida International University College of Law when appointed to his current opposition.
Other names mentioned include former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, retiring Republican Rep. Trey Gowdy of South Carolina, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Republican Rep. John Ratcliffe of Texas, Solicitor General Noel Francisco and a small number of sitting or former judges.
Trump considers replacing Ross
As Bondi and Acosta are under consideration for joining the Trump cabinet, another may be on his way back home. According to media reports, Trump is considering replacing current Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross by the end of the year.
Two names apparently top the list of replacements. Linda McMahon, who currently serves as the Small Business Administration chief, or Ray Washburn, who is currently the president of Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) are said to be in the mix. Ross has resided in Palm Beach not far from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago mansion.
Politico reported Senate Democrats are looking into meetings Ross held with major companies in which he holds financial interests. Soon, reports began to emerge that Trump could replace him with McMahon, the former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment.
Washburne, whose name surfaced quickly after the mention of McMahon, is a prominent investor from Dallas and a leading Republican Party fundraiser. The company for which he serves as President, (OPIC), helps U.S. firms invest in overseas projects mean to reinforce U.S. economic and national security.
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said there were “No personnel announcements at this time.”
Pelosi seeks diversity, faces challenge
Several Democratic House candidates said that if elected, they would not vote to elevate current Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi to Speaker. They were joined by a small minority of incumbents making the same pledge.
If those who committed followed through with their promise, Pelosi would not have the votes. But late last week, the veteran representative from San Francisco said she is “100 percent confident” she will be the next speaker.
Other House races are yet to be called, which could give Pelosi serious problems. The Democratic rebels believe they will pick up more than one dozen defectors, which would be enough to vote in someone else if they can decide on a single candidate.
So far, none of those publicly committing against Pelosi comes from the delegation.
In addition to trying to reclaim her former position, Pelosi is encouraging members and committees to hire diverse staffs.
“House Democrats take great pride in the fact that our Caucus is more than 60 percent women, people of color and LGBTQ,” she wrote in a letter to colleagues. “We know that the diversity in our ranks is a strength and a reflection of the American people that it is our great honor to serve.”
Soto, Murphy named to Fried transition
Shortly after the election, tentative Gov.-elect Ron DeSantis appointed Republican Rep. Gaetz of Fort Walton Beach to his transition team. Now, another newly-re-elected congressman, as well as a former member of the delegation were tapped for the transition team of Democrat Nikki Fried should the ongoing recount confirm her election as Agriculture Commissioner.
While declaring victory, Fried named Democratic Rep. Darren Soto of Orlando as a co-chair of the transition team and former Democratic Rep. Patrick Murphy was named chairman. Murphy represented Florida’s 18th Congressional District for two terms before unsuccessfully challenging Republican Sen. Marco Rubio in 2016.
“I’m looking forward to working with her and Commissioner [Adam] Putnam on a seamless transition and helping her put together an office which will accomplish her priorities of protecting our waterways, being a fighter for farmers in Tallahassee and Washington, ensuring complete background checks, and expanding access to medical marijuana,” Murphy said.
Soto brings a public commitment to gun control to the Fried team, along with his other co-chair, Fred Guttenberg, a parent of one of the Parkland shooting victims and outspoken advocate for gun control. The Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services regulates concealed weapons permits.
Mast, DeSantis fight Lake O delays
During the campaign, both U.S. Senators and members of the delegation from South Florida highlighted the authorization of a storage reservoir that would ultimately curtail the release of algae-infested water from Lake Okeechobee into local rivers and streams. Palm City Republican Brian Mast, joined by both Florida Senators, were among the loudest celebrants of the authorizations.
That ambitious schedule for the reservoir could now be in jeopardy. It was set to be constructed on land owned by the state and leased to New Hope Sugar Co.
The New Hope lease, which was set to expire, was an agenda item at last week’s meeting of the governing board of the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD). Mast appeared before the board urging a delay on behalf of his constituents and Governor-elect DeSantis before voting on a lease extension.
“Given that the current lease does not expire until March and because we did not receive enough advance notice on this proposed vote to ensure that this extension would not delay construction of the EAA Southern Storage Reservoir, we urge the South Florida Water Management District to delay their planned vote tomorrow,” said Mast and DeSantis in a joint statement.
Despite the plea, SFWMD went ahead with a vote and granted a new lease to New Hope until 2027. This raised the ire of the Everglades Foundation, who blasted the board of the SFWMD and Scott, who appointed them.
Eric Eikenberg, CEO of the Everglades Foundation wrote to Scott “to strongly protest the illegal, shameful and undemocratic action this morning by your appointees at the South Florida Water Management District …”
“Your appointees ignored the urgent request of Governor-elect Ron DeSantis and U.S. Rep. Mast to delay any action until the Governor-elect could be briefed on the matter. Your office was aware of our concerns about this matter but did nothing to intervene,” wrote Eikenberg, a former chief of staff to Gov. Charlie Crist.
Mast has made the water discharges a signature issue. Last year he introduced the Everglades FIRST (Flow Increases Rely on Storage and Treatment) Act designed to address water storage issues and prevent the toxic discharges.
“We cannot afford to wait another eight to 10 years to begin construction on a southern reservoir,” he said in a statement. “Every summer with toxic algal blooms means more businesses are forced to close, more people lose their jobs and more children get sick,”
It may take a while longer.
Rooney praises Trump for asylum reforms
Rep. Francis Rooney applauded a new executive order from President Trump that requires asylum-seekers to process their claims at ports of entry to the U.S. This is a much-needed action after a decade of abuse by people trying to exploit the system that was meant to protect people with legitimate cases,” Rooney said Friday on social media.
But the issue is particularly important to the Naples Republican because he introduced a similar bill in Congress in January of this year, the Asylum Protection Act of 2018. When Rooney first filed legislation, which would reduce the application deadline for seeking asylum to 30 days, he stressed the bill did not seek to stop asylum-seekers but plug a hole in the system.
“The United States asylum application process is being abused by illegal immigrants and the people suffering most from this abuse are those who most need asylum due to legitimate fear of persecution in their home countries,” Rooney said in January. “On the other hand, baseless asylum claims have created a huge backlog at the immigration courts and, as a result, allow illegal immigrants to stay in this country for years pending adjudication. Congress needs to end this abuse now and protect those legitimately in need.”
Steyer, NextGen America host post-election debrief
On Wednesday, Tom Steyer and his NextGen America will host a post-election debrief panel in Washington D.C. to discuss the results of the 2018 midterms and what those results mean for the future of American politics. The panel will cover the role of young voters in the election.
Steyer, a businessperson and philanthropist, originally founded NextGen American as NextGen climate in 2013. The focus has expanded from climate change to promoting progressive stands on several issues.
He is personally active in funding Democratic campaigns, which included pumping millions into the effort of Andrew Gillum for Governor.
Steyer will likely tout the significant increase the young voter turnout in the 2018 midterms, which was roughly 31%, the highest in the last 25 years. In unusually close governor races like Florida, Nevada, and Wisconsin, youth turnout was higher still, averaging 35 percent.
On this day in the headlines
November 13, 2000 — The state board responsible for certifying Florida’s disputed presidential election is poised to enforce Tuesday’s deadline for counties to submit their final vote counts, meaning nearly 2 million votes in five heavily Democratic counties could be discarded. Democrats will meet with Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris today to seek an extension.
“We will certify all in-state votes Tuesday,” said Agriculture Commissioner Bob Crawford, a Democrat and member of the three-member Elections Canvassing Commission. “Any county that doesn’t have their results in by 5 p.m. Tuesday won’t be counted.”
During the campaign, Crawford publicly supported Gov. George W. Bush.
November 13, 2012 — FBI Director Robert Mueller’s top aide was told former CIA chief David Petraeus was having an extramarital affair that might have compromised national security a week before the Nov. 6 election, a congressional official said Monday.
The disclosure raises fresh questions why the FBI leadership withheld the information from the nation’s top intelligence official and the congressional committees that oversee the U.S. intelligence community until after President Barack Obama won re-election. Political outcry already had flared over the deaths of the U.S. Ambassador to Libya, two CIA contractors, and a State Department staffer in a September 11 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi.
Veterans: Where Nelson, Scott agree
Sunday was Veterans Day with celebrations and parades across the state and the country. Florida is divided more than it has been in recent memory and three statewide still-to-be-decided election races offer ample proof.
Despite their deep divisions and growing personal animosity, Nelson and Scott can agree that veterans deserve the gratitude for what they have given to the country.
“Today — Veteran’s Day — we are reminded that we are forever indebted to those who served our country in uniform to keep us safe and our nation free.”
“On Veterans Day, our nation comes together to honor those who bravely served our country. Today, take a moment to remember their service and thank an American hero for their sacrifice for FL families. We can never say enough about how grateful we are for our military & veterans.”
David, Murphy relaunch D.C. gridlock series
Former Congressmen and once U.S. Senate rivals David Jolly and Patrick Murphy are reinvigorating their “Why Gridlock Rules Washington” town hall series in Palm Beach Gardens.
The two are speaking at the Palm Beach North Chamber of Commerce Business Before Hours Breakfast series Wednesday.
The two are meeting with groups around the country to spread awareness about dysfunction in Congress along with their bipartisan views on why it happens.
“Despite this hyperpartisan and divisive election season, this town hall will be a good chance for us to talk about how democrats and republicans can actually work together to solve issues. How we can work together to bridge our differences and how we can actually solve the gridlock that rules Washington,” Murphy said.
The two have already toured several college campuses including Berkeley, Brigham Young University, Pepperdine, Stanford, University of California Las Angeles, University of Southern California and Politicon.
Murphy is a Democrat and Jolly is a former Republican who recently shed his party affiliation and became an independent. The two have conducted more than 30 town halls nationwide including at the University of Florida, Florida International University, the University of Miami, Florida State University, University of Central Florida and University of South Florida.
The two former federal lawmakers launched their tour in 2017 to shine a light on what they see as broken components in Washington politics.
The town hall will be moderated by West Palm Beach WPBF 25 News television anchor Todd McDermott.
The two worked together in Congress despite partisanship haunting the halls of the Capitol on issues ranging from debt reduction and campaign finance reform to environmental issues and federal firearm policies.
