A federal judge ruled Thursday that Florida’s 67 counties must comply with a 3 p.m. deadline to complete a machine recount 8.2 million ballots cast in the U.S. Senate and governor’s race.
District Court Judge Mark Walker declined a request by Sen. Bill Nelson, the Democratic incumbent in the race, to push off the deadline.
The ruling comes after Palm Beach County election officials said they would not complete the task on time.
The recount comes after unofficial tallies show Nelson, who has held the seat since 2000, trailing Gov. Rick Scott, a Republican, by 12,500 votes.
