WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — As Florida undertakes its first statewide election recount effort in 18 years, we spoke to a political science professor at University of South Florida about how today's situation compares to the 2000 presidential recount.
- "Very distinctive parallels" to Al Gore and George W. Bush
- Broward County at center of both recounts
- More Decision 2018 stories
Same songs. Different verse.
That's the opinion of USF's Ed Benton on this year's recount and how much it reflects what we saw almost two decades ago.
"What’s going on now has very distinctive parallels to what happens in the 2000 presidential election between Al Gore and George W. Bush," Benton said.
Much of the similarity comes from the fact that South Florida, specifically Broward County, is Ground Zero for this ballot brouhaha and because once again, it’s unclear how many ballots were cast.
"It appears that no one quite knows, especially the Supervisor of Elections, how many ballots they have, how many went to this candidate and that candidate," Benton explained.
Across the state, all 67 counties are in the midst of a state-mandated recount, with the governor and Senate races too close to call.
Polk County started its recount this morning, with party officials and sheriff’s deputies looking on.
"We're going to be fair and neutral," said Polk Sheriff Grady Judd. "What we're interested in is the truth — how is the vote supposed to be according to law."
"I can tell you, having been through many recounts, though, I don't anticipate any significant change," said Polk Supervisor of Elections Lori Edwards.
Benton told us he'd like to see the legislature pass a statute that would require oversight of the ballot. He pointed to the fact that the Senate race was not featured prominently on the Broward County ballot, which likely cost both candidates votes.