Sen. Marco Rubio laid out his case against the recount efforts in Florida, comparing it to a losing football team changing the rules after a game so that they’d actually win.
There are multiple races undergoing recounts in the state, including the U.S. Senate and gubernatorial races.
Republicans and Democrats have battled over ballot-counting issues in places like Broward County, a Democratic stronghold. Some Republicans have accused Democrats of trying to steal the election, but Florida’s secretary of state said there’s no evidence of illegal activity.
Still, Rubio warned of an effort by Democratic lawyers to “steal” the election.
“Imagine if NFL team was trailing 24-22 but in final seconds hits a 3 pt kick to win. Then AFTER game lawyers for losing team get a judge to order rules changed so that last second field goals are only 1 point,” Rubio tweeted. “Well that’s how democrat lawyers plan to steal #Florida election.”
Imagine if NFL team was trailing 24-22 but in final seconds hits a 3 pt kick to win. Then AFTER game lawyers for losing team get a judge to order rules changed so that last second field goals are only 1 point
Well that’s how democrat lawyers plan to steal #Florida election 1/4
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 14, 2018
Rubio explained that Florida law requires voter signatures on mailed-in ballots to match the signature of on the voter’s registration. Lawyers for Democrats are asking a judge to disregard the law and count ballots with mismatching signatures, he said.
For example, #Florida law requires that the voter signatures on mail ballots match the signature of the voter.
But Dem lawyers are asking a judge to throw that law out & force Florida to count ballots with signatures that don’t match the voter signature on file. 2/4
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 14, 2018
#Florida law requires a manual recount of “undervotes” in close races & provides a clear standard for determining whether a voter intended to vote for a candidate.
Now Dem lawyers want a judge to order Florida to ignore this intent standard when reviewing “undervotes” 3/4
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 14, 2018
“In short, Dem lawyers came to Florida to get judges to change Florida elections laws, AFTER the election. That isn’t a strategy to win an election, that is a strategy to steal an election,” he concluded.
In short, Dem lawyers came to Florida to get judges to change Florida elections laws, AFTER the election. That isn’t a strategy to win an election, that is a strategy to steal an election. 4/4
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 14, 2018
On Election Night, it appeared Republican Gov. Rick Scott, the GOP candidate for Senate, and Republican Ron DeSantis, the party’s candidate for governor, were headed toward victory. DeSantis’s Democratic opponent, Andrew Gillum, even conceded.
But as vote counting continued, their leads shrunk and triggered automatic recounts.
