UPDATED 12:25 11/10:
Who wants a beer? I want a beer.
With all counties reporting everything except their 10-day Overseas Vote-by-Mail ballots — which must be postmarked by Nov. 6 but have 10 days to arrive at the appropriate supervisor of elections office — here's how the Florida midterm elections shook out.
Florida Governor: Ron DeSantis, 4,075,879; Andrew Gillum, 4,042,195. Difference: 33,684. Percentage: .41. Recount? Yes, machine.
U.S. Senator: Rick Scott, 4,098,107; Bill Nelson, 4,085,545. Difference: 12,562. Percentage: .15. Recount? Yes, manual.
Commissioner of Agriculture: Matt Caldwell, 4,025,011; Nicole "Nikki" Fried, 4,030,337. Difference: 5,326. Percentage: .06. Recount? Yes, manual. Guess we need to start working on that "What the heck does the Commissioner of Agriculture do, anyway?" feature.
And yes, folks, this is final. Well, final-ish. Until, you know, the recounts happen (and the lawyers get in on the fun). The machine recounts are due by 3 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 15.
We're going to get a beer.
UPDATED 10:15 11/10:
Are you tired? We're tired. Let's hope we can accurately count all the votes today, do whatever recounts the law requires and fall facedown into a spiced cider. Maybe it will even get cold…
Things of note: Broward County is still counting early voting ballots and provisionals, and Palm Beach County hasn't finished counting its mail-in ballots or provisional ballots yet. (Broward County may or may not still be counting early voting ballots — there's some discrepancy on the state website, and the head of communications for the Florida Division of Elections doesn't seem to understand our question when we ask why.) Other counties still plugging away at provisional ballots include Alachua (think the University of Florida), Osceola (think Kissimmee), Putnam (think that county between Gainesville and St, Augustine), Santa Rosa (think one county away from Alabama) and Walton (think Destin). Also, Commissioner of Agriculture looks to be the closest race. Who the hell knew we all felt so passionately about Fresh From Florida?
Home stretch, people (did we just jinx ourselves?) — here's how the three races all of America's watching shook out overnight.
Florida Governor: Ron DeSantis, 4,073,763; Andrew Gillum, 4,037,761. Difference: 36,002. Percentage: Still .44.
U.S. Senator: Rick Scott, 4,095,771; Bill Nelson, 4,080,923. Difference: 14,848. Percentage: Still .18
Commissioner of Agriculture: Matt Caldwell, 4,022,704; Nicole "Nikki" Fried, 4,025,824. Difference: 3,120. Percentage: Still .04, but seriously, has the Commissioner of Agriculture race ever gone to a recount before?
State law says all the ballots have to be counted by noon today, so check back with us around that time to see what twist this is gonna take next.
UPDATED 2:20 p.m. 11/9:
Florida Governor: Ron DeSantis, 4,073,432; Andrew Gillum, 4,037,309. Difference: 36,123. Percentage: Still .44.
U.S. Senator: Rick Scott, 4,095,426; Bill Nelson, 4,080,441. Difference: 14,985. Percentage: Still .18
Commissioner of Agriculture: Matt Caldwell, 4,022,368; Nicole "Nikki" Fried, 4,025,373. Difference: 3,005. Percentage: Still .04.
UPDATED 1 p.m. 11/9: Although neither Broward or Palm Beach County has finished counting early votes, more counties are verifying provisional ballots and numbers, along with some from Broward and Palm Beach, continue to move the needle on three Florida midterm races.
Florida governor's race tightening: Right now, DeSantis leads by 36,149 votes (4,073,254 votes to Gillum's 4,037,105); .44 percent separates them. Unless that gaps goes back about .5 percent, this race will have a legally mandated recount.
Senate race still close: Incumbent Bill Nelson has 4,080,222 votes to Rick Scott's 4,095,246. That's a gap of 15,024 votes, or .18 percent. This means that unless this trend reverses as more votes get tallied, not only is this race going for a recount, it's going for a manual recount.
Commissioner of Agriculture race flipped: While several media outlets called Matt Caldwell the winner Tuesday night, as counties finish counting votes, Nicole "Nikki" Fried has pulled ahead by 2,974 votes — she has 4,025,164 votes to Caldwell's 4,022,190, a gap of .04 percent. If this trend continues, perhaps there won't be a recount for this race, which is a charming idea but it's not past that .5 percent mark yet, folks.
We'll update this article through the bitter end. Stay with us.
November 8
For the first time in Florida's history, the vote between the top two candidates running for governor has dipped below .5 percent, which means — say it with me — a legally mandated recount.
Why now?
As more ballots get counted — Broward County, an historically blue stronghold, hasn't finished counting any votes not cast on election day — Ron DeSantis' lead over Andrew Gillum lessens. Florida mandates a recount in elections with less than a half-percent margin. At 2 p.m. today, that margin fell to .47 percent. If the margin falls below .25 percent, that recount must be a hand recount.
Palm Beach County has also not finished counting mail-in ballots.
As of 2 p.m. today, Ron DeSantis has 4,069,451 votes; Andrew Gillum has 4,030,936 — a difference of 38,515 votes, or .47 percent. As Broward and Palm Beach Counties finish tallying their votes — they have until Saturday at noon — that number will change. If it rises above .5 percent, there will not be a recount. If it remains below .5 percent, the law requires a recount. This is not up to the candidates and, no, it doesn't matter that Gillum conceded.
So far, Broward voters have cast 219,542 votes for DeSantis and 476,622 for Gillum. Palm Beach County voters have cast 239,861 votes for DeSantis and 339,214 for Gillum. Broken down by percentage, 67.98 percent of Broward voters and 58.15 percent of Palm Beach voters chose Gillum.
Creative Loafing has reached out to the Broward County Supervisor of Elections and will update this article with any information about those uncounted ballots — including how many remain — when we hear back from them.
Oh, and just for fun? Looks like the Commissioner of Agriculture race could also have a recount: Right now, only 575 votes separate Republican Matt Caldwell and Nicole "Nikki" Fried. Fried is currently in the lead, which could change as Palm Beach and Broward counties finish counting — or with a recount.
When all the voters are in — again, that state-mandated deadline is noon on Saturday, Nov. 10 — the state has until Thursday, Nov. 15 at 3 p.m. to complete the recount. In theory, the entire election process will end — and the Elections Canvassing Committee will certify the results — at 9 a.m. on November 20.
Dare to dream, liberals. Dare. To. Dream.
This article appears in Nov 8-15, 2018.