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Miami-Dade Elections Preparing For Probable Recounts

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Just when you thought it was over, it's not.

The Miami-Dade Elections Department, along with elections departments statewide, are likely to be involved in recounts for two, if not three Florida races.

This from the Miami-Dade Elections Department:

"Our results are online. Tomorrow (Thursday) the canvassing board meets to review provision ballots at 4pm. Unofficial results (for all counties) are due to the State on Saturday, November 10th at noon."

Florida state law requires the margin of victory to be equal or less than 0.5 percent of total votes. Otherwise, a machine recount is ordered.

"A machine recount that, in some counties, will take a couple of hours," said J.C. Planas, an attorney who specializes in election law. "In counties like Miami-Dade, it will take 48 (hours) running machines, nonstop.

But if the margin is equal or less than 0.25 percent, the Miami-Dade Election Department will be in for a manual recount like all state elections departments. That could take days.

"This is where the canvassing board will certainly be involved and count them essentially one by one. If there are disputed ballots, they will have to determine the intent of the voter," said Kathryn DePalo from the Department of Politics and International Relations.

The Miami-Dade canvasing boards only evaluate ballots that are under-voted, or not fully complete, and over-voted, when a voter casts a ballot for more than one candidate.

Candidates are prepping for recounts.

"I think there have been lawyers on the ground since this weekend, gearing up for the possibilities," said DePalo.

But are we back to the days of hanging chads and weeks of recount strife?

Probably not.

"We have the best ballot that we have ever had," said Planas. "Bubble in electronics scan ballot [is] the most efficient we have ever had."

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