A number of voters throughout the state are pushing for a full recount of the presidential election in Florida.

  • Results of the 2016 election have troubled many voters
  • A small group of dedicated demonstrators protested Sunday

Sunday, demonstrators stood outside the Hillsborough County Courthouse to urge a closer look at the ballots that were cast in the 2016 election.

“I’m here because I’m very concerned about our country’s election process,” said protester Anne Saikt.

“I want a recount,” added protester Mary Ellen Palermo.

“I want to know that our elections are safe,” agreed protester Anita Balch.

Anita Balch knows exactly what a recount would entail. She recently returned from volunteering in the recount in Wisconsin. Using money out of her own pocket, Balch spent nearly a week in Wisconsin. She dispatched and scheduled elections observers and documented it all. She said it’s critical to know whether the election was fair.

“If I had my way, every state should do it,” Balch said. “I don’t care if you’re a Republican, a Democrat, a Jill Stein Green Party supporter, a Gary Johnson Libertarian, we should all have the security of knowing our vote counted, there’s nothing going on, the systems are good, everybody who has a right to vote gets to vote and that every vote counted. And I believe that to the bottom of my toes.”

Sunday, Balch stepped away from helping out Wisconsin to join the group of four at the Hillsborough County Courthouse. They’re hoping it shows their commitment to a fair election.

The Hillsborough protest was part of a larger statewide effort by an Orlando law firm, Clint, Curtis and Associates. The firm recently filed a lawsuit, on behalf of some voters who claimed a variety of issues, including hacking and equipment problems in Florida during the presidential election.

The courts have yet to take up that complaint.