Democratic congressional candidate Eliott Rodriguez is demanding that Miami-Dade County Supervisor of Elections Alina Garcia recuse herself from the recount of Florida’s 27th Congressional District race.
Republican incumbent Maria Elvira Salazar currently leads Rodriguez by 1,116, triggering a recount of the race that has drawn national media attention. The district runs from Little Havana down the coast to Cutler Bay and westward into Kendall and is mostly Latino.
Rodriguez’s campaign on Thursday said Garcia publicly declared Salazar the winner before the recount was complete, citing the Miami Herald's coverage of Salazar's election night watch party.
“María Elvira is the winner, with or without a recount,” the Herald quoted Garcia as saying. She also said it was “possible but not probable” that enough ballots remained to be counted to flip the results, the Herald reported.
READ MORE: Salazar leads Rodriguez in Florida's 27th — but the race is close enough to trigger a recount
The Rodriguez campaign also alleges that Salazar’s recount attorney is Garcia’s son-in-law, Robert Fernandez. They have requested immediate confirmation of the family connection and Fernandez's legal role.
The legal team representing Rodriguez has formally demanded that Garcia recuse herself from all canvassing board proceedings and recount decisions involving the congressional election.
“Voters deserve a fair count. They should not have to wonder whether the official helping oversee it has already decided the outcome,” Jason B. Blank, the Rodriguez campaign attorney, wrote in a letter Thursday to Oren Rosenthal, the general counsel for the Miami-Dade County Supervisor of Elections.
"A candidate can declare victory. An election official responsible for the canvass should know better,” Blank wrote in his letter. “The count should determine the outcome. It should not become an exercise in confirming Ms. Garcia’s prediction.”
“This is not about favoring one candidate over another," the Rodriguez campaign said in a statement to media. "It is about ensuring that every legally cast vote is counted fairly and that the public can have absolute confidence in the integrity of the process."
“No election official should prejudge the outcome of a recount, and no voter should have to question whether personal or family relationships are influencing decisions about their ballot," the Rodriguez campaign said.
