Florida Gov’t Weekly Roundup: All Eyes On Florida
November 18, 2018
With flashbacks to the 2000 presidential election, Florida was again ground zero this week for a vote recount with national implications.
But despite a host of lawsuits and controversies, by the weekend the state appeared to be closing in on decisions involving the election of a new governor, a U.S. senator and a state agriculture commissioner.
In race to succeed Gov. Rick Scott, Republican Ron DeSantis solidified his Nov. 6 victory after a machine recount basically verified his nearly 34,000-vote lead over Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum. But Gillum has yet to concede.
The margin could be adjusted slightly after more overseas ballots are counted before the noon Sunday deadline for the official results. But the final tally is likely to represent the closest general-election victory in a governor’s race in the modern era.
DeSantis’ 0.41 percent winning margin was a veritable landslide compared to the 0.15 percent margin Republican Scott was holding over incumbent U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson as a manual recount began. And it was much more substantial than the 0.06 percent lead held by Democrat Nikki Fried over Matt Caldwell in the agriculture commissioner’s race.
The razor-thin margins and the continuing controversies over Florida’s statewide elections may only be a prelude to what’s on the horizon.
Florida, the nation’s largest swing state, will play a key role in the next presidential election, as Donald Trump seeks re-election to the office he holds in part thanks to a 1.2 percent victory margin in the Sunshine State two years ago.
A FLURRY OF LAWSUITS
The vote recount resulted in at least eight legal challenges being filed in federal court, with U.S. District Judge Mark Walker of Tallahassee handling all of the cases.
Here are key developments:
— Siding with Nelson’s campaign and national Democrats, Walker gave voters until 5 p.m. Saturday to fix ballots that were rejected because of mismatched signatures.
His ruling came hours before a 3 p.m. Thursday deadline for a machine recount to be completed in the race between Nelson and Scott, whose 56,000-vote election-night lead had dwindled to fewer than 13,000 votes when the recount was ordered.
The lawsuit focuses on part of Florida law that requires signatures on mail-in and provisional ballots to match signatures on file with elections offices. Voters whose ballots are delivered by 5 p.m. the day before an election have the opportunity to “cure” signature mismatches. But people whose mail-in ballots are received after that, or voters who cast provisional ballots on Election Day, do not.
County canvassing boards make decisions about whether signatures match, and thus whether ballots should be counted. But counties don’t have uniform regulations to govern the decisions, Democrats argued, making the process unconstitutional.
The judge agreed.
“The precise issue in this case is whether Florida’s law that allows county election officials to reject vote-by-mail and provisional ballots for mismatched signatures — with no standards, an illusory process to cure, and no process to challenge the rejection — passes constitutional muster. The answer is simple. It does not,” Walker wrote in a 34-page order.
Walker called the opportunity to fix a ballot “the last chance a vote-by-mail voter has to save their vote from being rejected and not counted.”
“Florida law provides no opportunity for voters to challenge the determination of the canvassing board that their signatures do not match, and their votes do not count,” he wrote.
In contrast, the law allows voters or candidates to challenge signatures that were accepted, Walker noted.
Walker’s decision was upheld by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
— Saying he refuses to “fashion a remedy in the dark,” Walker on Thursday turned down a request by Nelson’s campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee to extend recount deadlines.
Walker, who held a telephone hearing on the issue Thursday morning, focused his order on Palm Beach County, which was unable to meet the machine recount deadline because of antiquated equipment. The judge wrote that the recount deadline “arbitrarily and disparately treats some voters differently because of their location and without taking into account the unpredictable circumstances of each election cycle.”
But he said he would not issue the preliminary injunction sought by the Democrats because it was uncertain how long it might take Palm Beach County to finish recounting ballots.
Walker wrote that “there is a complete dearth of evidence before this court concerning the status, progress, or expected completion of the ordered recounts in Palm Beach County.”
“This court must be able to craft a remedy with knowledge that it will not prove futile. It cannot do so on this record. This court does not and will not fashion a remedy in the dark,” the judge wrote.
— In two other rulings on Thursday, Walker shot down an attempt to keep Scott from interfering in the recount process and nixed another challenge focused on the way county canvassing boards decide which ballots should be tossed.
The rulings, issued hours after Walker held hearings in a mash-up of cases, followed machine recounts in which Scott maintained a narrow lead over Nelson.
In the days following the Nov. 6 election, Scott and his supporters repeatedly castigated elections chiefs in Broward and Palm Beach counties as ballots in the heavily Democratic regions continued to be tallied and Scott’s advantage over Nelson shrank.
Standing outside the governor’s mansion two days after the election, Scott held a press conference accusing Broward County Supervisor of Elections Brenda Snipes and her Palm Beach County counterpart, Susan Bucher, of ineptitude and fraud. The governor also said he was asking the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to investigate. His campaign Twitter account later urged Florida sheriffs to be on guard for election irregularities.
Scott’s comments prompted the League of Women Voters of Florida and Common Cause Florida to ask the federal court to remove the Republican governor and U.S. Senate candidate from the elections process.
One of Scott’s lawyers told Walker the governor intends to recuse himself from the state Elections Canvassing Commission, which is set to certify election results at 9 a.m. Tuesday.
But during a Thursday hearing, Larry Robbins, a lawyer for the voting-rights groups, told Walker that Scott should also be stripped of his authority to remove members of county canvassing boards, comprised of elections supervisors, county commissioners and judges.
By urging “the cops to go out and see what these unethical liberals are doing,” Scott has showed a bias against Palm Beach, Broward and possibly other counties, Robbins argued.
But, in a ruling later Thursday, Walker said there’s a difference between “typical campaign-trail puffery” — which he called “increasingly bombastic, imprudent, and not necessarily rooted in objective facts” — and what a public official says and does in his official capacity.
“Here, Scott has toed the line between imprudent campaign-trail rhetoric and problematic state action. But he has not crossed the line,” Walker wrote.
Scott, as a candidate, has the right to make speeches outside the mansion. But the governor can’t “undercut the count and mandatory recounts from his perch of public official,” the judge wrote, noting that Scott’s most “questionable conduct” occurred in his capacity as a candidate, not as governor.
In a separate lawsuit, Walker also refused to block state elections rules that outline the way ballots should be counted during manual recounts.
STILL A WINNER
For the second time, DeSantis declared victory in the 2018 Florida governor’s race.
The results of a state-ordered machine recount showed the former Republican congressman from Ponte Vedra Beach maintained a nearly 34,000-vote lead over his rival, according to the state Division of Elections.
DeSantis, who is slated to become governor on Jan. 8, only lost one vote from his lead in unofficial results that triggered the machine recount. Such recounts are required when margins between candidates are 0.5 percent or less.
“Those returns remain clear and unambiguous, just as they were on election night, and at every point throughout this process,” DeSantis said in a statement. “I remain humbled by your support and the great honor the people of Florida have shown me as I prepare to serve as your next governor.”
However, Gillum, who conceded the race on election night but later retracted his concession as the vote margin narrowed, indicated he is not ready to give up on the race.
“A vote denied is justice denied — the state of Florida must count every legally cast vote. As today’s unofficial reports and recent court proceedings make clear, there are tens of thousands of votes that have yet to be counted,” Gillum said in a statement. “It is not over until every legally casted vote is counted.”
But unlike races for the U.S. Senate and state agriculture commissioner, which are headed for statewide manual recounts because the victory margins were less than 0.25 percent, the major vote-counting in the governor’s race is over.
County elections officials are scheduled to file their official returns to the state by noon on Sunday, with the state Elections Canvassing Commission meeting Tuesday morning to certify the results. Candidates have until Nov. 30 to challenge the election results.
STORY OF THE WEEK: Florida attracted the national spotlight amid recounts involving races for governor, U.S. Senate, agriculture commissioner and several legislative contests.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “We have been the laughingstock of the world in election after election. I get all that. … We’re still going to go to a default where we don’t count every vote,” said U.S. District Judge Mark Walker, expressing concern that state law does not have a provision to extend a vote recount in the case of voting machine problems.
by Lloyd Dunkelberger, The News Service of Florida
Nothing Found In Search For Possible Downed Aircraft Near Quintette Road
November 17, 2018
Nothing was found in a search for a possible downed aircraft in North Escambia Saturday night.
The search was in the area north and south of Quintette Road in Escambia County for a possible plane down based upon witness reports.
Escambia Fire Rescue and other agencies started their search about 6 p.m. and called the search unfounded about 7:20 p.m.
Pictured: A search for a possible downed aircraft on Quintette Road Saturday night. NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.
Local Employment Rate Remains Steady
November 17, 2018
The latest job numbers released Friday show the employment rate remained the same in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties.
Escambia County’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate held steady at 3 percent from September to October. There were 4,399 people reported unemployed during the period. One year ago, unemployment in Escambia County was 3.7 percent.
Santa Rosa County’s unemployment rate remained the same at 2.7 percent from September to October. Santa Rosa County had a total of 2,197 persons still unemployed. The year-ago unemployment rate in Santa Rosa County was 3.4 percent.
Florida’s unemployment rate inched down to 3.4 percent in October, a 0.1 percentage-point reduction from September. The latest numbers point to the lowest jobless rate for the state since January 2007. They represent 345,000 Floridians — 14,000 fewer than in September and 51,000 less than a year earlier — who qualified as unemployed from a workforce of 10.25 million. The decrease came as the national unemployment figure held at 3.7 percent from month to month. Florida’s numbers were driven by service-related jobs, according to the state agency. Modest gains were also reported in categories involving construction, financial activities, trade and utilities, education and health and professional and business services.
The jobless numbers released by the state do not include persons that have given up on finding a job and are no longer reported as unemployed.
PPD: Man Walked In Police Station, Asked To Be Jailed For Child Porn
November 17, 2018
An Escambia County man was arrested he walked into a police station and told them he needed to go to jail and showed them downloaded child porn on this cellphone.
Cory Hinsch walking into the Pensacola Police Department and told a sergeant that he needed to be taken to jail because he had child porn on his phone, according to an arrest report. Hinsch then placed his phone up to a glass divider between him and the sergeant and showed him a photo of a 7 to 8-year old girl engaged in a sex act.
After being read his Miranda rights, Hinsch told investigators that he downloaded the child porn from the “dark web” and consented to a search of his phone. Investigators found two child pornography images on the phone, the report states.
Hinsch was arrested and charged with two counts of possession of child pornography. He was released from the Escambia County Jail.
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Tax Collector Returns $1 Million To Escambia County
November 17, 2018
Tax Collector Scott Lunsford has returned over a million dollars to Escambia County during his first two years in office.
This fiscal year, he returned $493,425.17 in unspent revenue to the county commission for fiscal year 2017-2018, bringing his two year total to $1,048,360.37.
“I am proud to reach this million-dollar milestone in just my second year in office,” Lunsford said. “We work hard to be fiscally responsible with the taxpayers’ money. We are proud to be able to provide the Board of County Commissioners these funds that can be invested in local services that make Escambia County a great place to live.”
The Escambia County Tax Collector office is fee-based, meaning its operations are funded through the fees it collects. At the end of each fiscal year and after its budget is funded, the tax collector distributes all unused fees to local taxing authorities.
No Serious Injuries In Highway 29 Rollover Accident
November 17, 2018
There were no serious injuries in a two vehicle accident Friday night on Highway 29 near Kingsfield Road. Once vehicle came to rest upside down in the median. At least five people refused transport to the hospital by ambulance, including three properly restrained children. Further details were not released as the Florida Highway Patrol investigates. NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.
Baker Downs Northview
November 17, 2018
The Northview Chiefs lostin the regional semifinals to the Baker Gators 38-14 Friday night in Baker.
The Chiefs headed into the semifinal matchup looking for a win, and looking to honoring teammate Dariontae Richardson. The junior had a heart attack last Saturday just hours after a 40-14 Chiefs win over Graceville. He continues to recover in a Mobile hospital.
Northview carried Richardson’s jersey to the coin toss and as they ran onto the field.
The first quarter remained scoreless until the final minute. Baker took a 6-0 lead with 36 seconds in the quarter, but as the quarter expired, Northview’s Seth Killam scored on a 54 yard quarterback keeper. With a good kick from the Chiefs to give Northview a 7-6 lead, the Baker Gators were behind for the first time this entire season.
Baker regained the lead with a touchdown with just under six minutes to go in the half and failed at a two point conversion. Baket hit the endzone again and their two-point plans were spoiled by a host of Chiefs. Headed into halftime, Baker held a 18-7 lead.
After another Baker TD, the Chiefs scored their second touchdown of the night with a 1-yard run from Trent Peebles with 7:55 for a score of 25-14.
Northview ended with a winning 8-5 season.
Baker advances to their fifth straight regional final next Friday night against Vernon. Vernon defeated Jay 40-0 Friday night.
Images courtesy WEAR 3 for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Lawmakers Expected To Dig Into Election Problems
November 17, 2018
Florida lawmakers will be asked to tackle how elections are run, after the chaos of this year’s elections led to a federal judge calling the state’s process “the laughingstock of the world.”
Incoming Senate President Bill Galvano, who will take the reins of the chamber on Tuesday, told reporters Friday that he expects lawmakers to review various aspects of the elections process, from the handling of vote-by-mail ballots to certification dates.
Galvano, R-Bradenton, said he’s heard from a number of senators about the issue and that he wants to revisit aspects of state elections laws. He pointed to problems beyond the current election cycle, which has included troubled recounts in races for U.S. Senate, governor and agriculture commissioner and three legislative seats.
The goal, he said, is to keep future elections from “judicial intervention.”
“There is an interest among the members that I’ve talked to — after this cycle — to revisit it, and figure out why ballots appear, why they are hard to track, why we have machine recounts that produce a substantially lesser number of votes than originally reported,” Galvano said during a gathering with reporters in his office in advance of a legislative organization session Tuesday. “Those are all issues that are important.”
A spokesman for the House did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
Incoming Senate Minority Leader Audrey Gibson said in a telephone interview Friday that, in addition to looking for ways to improve the vote-by-mail process, any legislative approach to elections should consider uniformity among ballot designs.
The Jacksonville Democrat also said Florida should create a contingent of county elections supervisors to review how other states conduct different aspect of the voting process, with an emphasis on states like Oregon where elections have been conducted exclusively by mail.
“If we’re determining the process, it’s up to us to make this as smooth a process as possible for the voters. That’s who it’s about,” Gibson said. “I believe we can get to that place. I don’t think any member of the Legislature wants our state to look in disarray.”
The comments from Galvano and Gibson came a day after U.S. District Judge Mark Walker expressed exasperation as lawsuits piled up over the Nov. 6 election. He ripped the elections process as he dealt with a case involving Palm Beach County, which was unable to finish a machine recount because of antiquated equipment.
“We have been the laughingstock of the world in election after election and we chose not to fix this,” Walker said. “I get all that. … We’re still going to go to a default where we don’t count every vote.”
Asked about comments — including by Gov. Rick Scott and President Donald Trump — regarding elections being stolen and incompetence by county elections supervisors, Galvano said there may not have been much confidence in Florida elections even going into the cycle. The state drew worldwide attention for the 2000 presidential recount.
“We have sort of been painted with that brush since 2000,” Galvano said. “I think they definitely highlight that we have concerns, and you see repeated problems in the South Florida counties. I think by the next election cycle, the voters are going to want to have more in terms of assurance that their votes are going to be properly counted.”
Without pointing to Broward and Palm Beach counties, Galvano discussed a need to look at how vote-by-mail ballots are handled, from signatures to the chain of command within county supervisors offices.
Another area that Galvano wants reviewed is how recounts are conducted, noting that in Hillsborough County the overall ballot count went down significantly in the machine recount.
The county is a concern for Galvano because Democrat Janet Cruz, the House minority leader, held a narrow lead in her bid to unseat Sen. Dana Young, R-Tampa, in Senate District 18.
The race went to a manual recount on Thursday after county Supervisor of Elections Craig Latimer decided not to submit machine recount numbers due the reduced ballot count. Instead, he refiled earlier unofficial numbers.
“It does raise concern when you see a change in numbers in terms of votes cast,” Galvano said.
According to the county election office, during the recount there were a pair of power outages, along with the impacts of an emergency court hearing, resulting in 846 fewer votes in the machine recount.
Democrats said Friday that Cruz has won the race. But the deadline for counties to complete their manual recounts is noon Sunday. Mark Ard, a spokesman for the state Division of Elections, said election results will be simultaneously posted.
by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida
Friday Night Playoff Final Scores
November 17, 2018
Here are Friday night playoff finals from around the North Escambia area:
FLORIDA
Class 1A – Region 1
Baker 38, Northview 14
Vernon 40, Jay 0
Class 6A – Region 1
- Navarre 50, Escambia 22
- Crestview 49, Pine Forest 19
Class 3A – Region 1
- Florida High 27, Pensacola Catholic 23
ALABAMA
- Autauga Academy 49, Escambia Academy 0 (Autauga wins state title)
- Flomaton 32, Winfield 7 (Flomaton will host Pike next Friday night)
Image courtesy WEAR 3 for NorthEscambia.com
Praying For #10: Northview Football Player Suffers Heart Attack
November 16, 2018
As the Northview Chiefs head into the second round of the state playoffs tonight, they have winning on their minds. But they are also thinking about teammate Dariontae Richardson who suffered a heart attack hours after the Chiefs’ win last Friday night.
Richardson made several key plays for the Chiefs in their win against Graceville. He was not injured in the game.
But by Saturday morning, the 16-year old was found at home not breathing. His mother performed CPR until an ambulance arrived. He was transported to Atmore Community Hospital and airlifted to a Mobile hospital where he is continuing to recover.
“Thank you all for your prayers. Dariontae is still making improvements. Please continue to keep him and his family in your prayers. #chiefstrong #prayforten #gochiefs,” the Northview Quarterback Club posted on their Facebook page.
“He has a long road ahead of him,” Northview Principal Gayle Weaver said during a School Advisory Council meeting. She said he is expected to remain in the hospital for several more days. “He is a really good guy, and we are all thinking about him.”
The Chiefs will honor Richardson Friday night as they take on the Gators in Baker.
Pictured: Dariontae Richardson (#10) during the Northview Chiefs first round playoff win over Graceville last Friday night. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
