Rick Scott Files Three More Lawsuits Against Election Officials

Governor Rick Scott announced today that his campaign will file three additional lawsuits against election officials who are currently tabulating the results of his race against Sen. Bill Nelson for one of Florida’s Senate seats, CNN reports. Earlier in the week, Scott sued Broward and Palm Beach counties over alleged issues with ballot counting.

These new lawsuits target Broward County Supervisor of Elections Brenda Snipes and Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Susan Buchner. One lawsuit against Snipes alleges that her office counted ballots after the Saturday afternoon deadline. The other two lawsuits, against Snipes and Buchner, requests that the voting tabulation machines be impounded when the recount is complete. The lawsuits also ask both women to keep all ballots and records connected with the election.

The initial count of the election results showed Scott ahead by a minuscule margin, which allowed a recount to be triggered.

From CNN:

Nelson released a statement Sunday afternoon in response to Scott’s new lawsuits, describing the move as an effort “to stop every legal vote from being counted.”

“He’s doing this for the same reason he’s been making false and panicked claims about voter fraud—he’s worried that when all the votes are counted he’ll lose this election,” the statement said. “We will not allow him to undermine the democratic process and will use every legal tool available to protect the rights of Florida voters.”

Starting last week, Scott, President Trump, and other Republicans made claims that Democrats were trying to “steal” the election, and alleged cases of voter fraud. There is no evidence to back up these claims. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement says it is not investigating the election in any way, and the Florida Department of State confirmed there were no reports of criminal activity.

Nelson’s campaign has also filed a lawsuit against the Florida Secretary of State over the process used to validate vote-by-mail ballots.

Palm Beach County officials said today that finishing the recount by the deadline this Thursday will be “impossible,” according to CNN.