A margin of 1,090 votes separates the candidates in Florida’s 27th Congressional District, setting off a machine recount ordered by the Florida Secretary of State.
The re-tally began at 10 a.m. Monday at the Miami-Dade Elections Headquarters in Doral, according to Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections Alina Garcia, as reported by the Miami Herald.
Incumbent Republican Representative María Elvira Salazar secured 50.22% of the vote compared to Democratic challenger Eliott Rodriguez at 49.78%, triggering the mandatory machine recount under Florida law for margins under 0.5 percentage points. Yahoo reported that Salazar led by 1,103 votes or 0.44 percentage points as of Thursday evening.
Before the ballot boxes went through the machines, Rodriguez filed a federal lawsuit in Miami federal court seeking to bar Miami-Dade’s Republican supervisor of elections from participating in the canvassing board. The complaint alleged that Garcia possessed a conflict of interest, pointing to her son-in-law representing Salazar in recount proceedings, as detailed by NBC 6 South Florida.
MY STATEMENT REGARDING RECOUNT IN FL-27 pic.twitter.com/8dAamLgH28
An emergency hearing took place at 9 a.m. Monday before U.S. District Judge David S. Leibowitz. The judge denied the motion to remove Garcia from the oversight board just one hour before the recount commenced.
Rodriguez also sought records from the Miami-Dade Elections Department for a list of overseas and military voters, alongside records indicating whether each ballot was sent, returned, counted, rejected, or pending, according to the Miami Herald.
“A recount is not a denial of an election result or a challenge to democracy. It is an important safeguard established by Florida law to ensure accuracy and public confidence when an election is exceptionally close — as this one currently is,” Rodriguez said in a statement.
Salazar claimed victory on election night, though no official winner has been certified. Responding to the legal actions on social media, Salazar posted on X that her opponent was attempting to turn the process into a political circus.
Garcia defended her position prior to the hearing, stating that nothing disqualified her from performing her duties on the Canvassing Board and confirming she would not recuse herself. Members of the Miami-Dade County Canvassing Board oversaw the Monday recount operations in Doral.
