Florida Republican Rep. Allen West isn’t giving up in his attempt to order a recount of his election loss. The incumbent Republican cited Florida officials in one county who have “already stated they had a 141 percent voter turnout.”
West’s curiosity was piqued when the count of votes swung wildly from a lead of 2,000 votes for him to a 2,400 vote deficit 35 minutes later on election night. Officials say the final margin is too large to demand a recount, but they agreed to a partial recount of early votes in St. Lucie County when they admitted some votes had been counted twice.
Although the action in St. Lucie County wasn’t enough to call for a statewide recount, West is calling for one, stating: “If people are that adamant about getting rid of me, that’s fine. But don’t do it at the expense of the integrity of our electoral process. That’s what disturbs me the most.”
West and his associates are targeting County Supervisor of Elections Gertrude Walker and asking for a statewide recount because the number of voter signatures all over the state don’t match the number of total ballots counted.
Jeffrey Scott Shapiro, who worked for John Kerry in 2004 and now works with West, asserted, “We’re close, very close. It would be irrational at this stage to concede without making sure that every single vote is counted and that the democratic process is preserved.”
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