Florida Democrat sues to block county elections chief from recount in House race, alleging bias

A Democratic candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in Florida is suing to block Miami-Dade County’s elections chief from participating in a razor-tight recount that will help determine the size of the party’s majority.

Florida election officials officially announced the recount Saturday after finding that Eliott Rodriguez trailed U.S. Rep. María Elvira Salazar (R) by 1,090 votes, or 0.44 percent, in the closely watched race in South Florida.

Under state law, any margin less than 0.5% triggers an automatic recount, which would then be followed by a manual recount if the new margin fell below 0.25%.

But Rodriguez sued Miami-Dade Elections Supervisor Alina Garcia on Saturday to prevent her from participating in any recount. The lawsuit cites Garcia’s recent comments appearing to favor Salazar in the race.

Garcia said Salazar “is the winner, with or without a recount,” the Miami Herald reported.

“Plaintiff alleges that publicly announcing the result before any recount, while recognizing that an annulment remains possible, creates an objective risk of bias on the part of the decision-maker herself,” Rodriguez’s complaint reads.

The lawsuit also claims Garcia has a family member too close to Salazar’s campaign for her to be impartial in the recount process. Garcia’s son-in-law, Robert Fernandez, is Salazar’s attorney.

The Rodriguez campaign sent a letter to Garcia on Thursday demanding that she recuse herself from the voting committee, but Garcia refused.

Rodriguez is now asking a court to remove Garcia, saying his involvement in any recount violates his due process rights under the 14th Amendment.

Garcia, as the county’s elections chief, is part of the canvassing committee charged with overseeing any recount. Although the initial recount is done by machine, the canvassing board decides whether signatures match provisional and absentee ballots, and whether voting machines created tabulation errors.

The automatic recount must be completed by Thursday, November 12 at 3 p.m. The state certifies its election results on November 17.