For the first time in Florida’s history, a statewide recount has been issued after the latest midterm elections. Three critical races are up for recount: the seats for Governor, Senate, and Agricultural Commissioner. The people running for these seats are Ron DeSantis (R) and Andrew Gillum (D) for the gubernatorial election, Rick Scott (R) and Bill Nelson (D) for the seat on the Senate, and lastly Nicole Fried (D) and Matt Caldwell (R) for statewide Agricultural Commissioner. How did this happen and what does it mean?

According to the Florida constitution, mandatory recounts are required and races are named “Too close to call” if the margin of victory between two candidates is equal or less than .5 percent. In addition, if the margin of victory is equal or less than .25 percent then the mandatory recount must be completed by hand. (Both of these facts come Chapter 102.166 in the 2018 edition of Florida’s constitution.)

The results of all three of the previously listed races fall under these conditions which have triggered these statewide recounts. President Donald Trump and Rick Scott have made unsubstantiated accusations about these recounts that are required by law. Rick Scott has gone as far to file lawsuits against two Florida counties for fraud, which had little impact on the actual recount of votes because there is no evidence of election fraud present. They have also claimed that votes are appearing out of nowhere and that the ballots have been “infected” when the reality is not all votes were submitted on election night. The reason for this would be absentee ballots.

At the end of election night the people of Florida stood with Ron DeSantis, Rick Scott, and Nicole Fried who were each in the lead for their respectable races. Therefore Rick Scott’s anger and the all of other candidates frustration is justifiable to some extent. Although the previously mentioned absentee ballots play a significant part as to why these election results changed percentage-wise and lead to these massive recounts.

In the state of Florida any registered voter may request an absentee ballot (also known as voting-by-mail). According to the Florida Department of State, these ballots must be received by the Supervisor of Elections by 7pm on election day. Overseas voters using an absentee ballot, such as people in the military, have a ten day extension for their votes to be received due to postal delays. These votes take significantly longer to count and normally are not tallied by the time election night has come to a close which is what happened this year. Therefore, the results on election night are not final and are subject to change.

This is why Bill Nelson and Andrew Gillum have chosen to use their voices to encourage that the recounts continue so that every person’s voice can be heard. If not the data from election night will be used to determine the winners of the races, leaving thousands of people’s votes out. Nelson especially has used his twitter platform to spread his views on this over the past week since the election.

So as this massive recount is occurring due to these absentee ballots Floridians, and politicians across America, hold their fingers tightly crossed and keep their teeth clenched waiting for the final results to be released.