Election officials in Gainesville on Wednesday were preparing to review an estimated 300 provisional ballots cast in the race for sheriff ahead of an expected recount. It could take as long as next week to declare a winner.
The election for sheriff in Alachua County ended Tuesday night, but instead of a declared winner, candidates Chad Scott and Emery Gainey were left with uncertainty.
In the race where 133,448 people voted, the difference between the two was 395 votes, or 0.29%, making the outcome too close to call. Florida law requires a recount when the margin is less than 0.5%
Scott, the Democratic nominee, prematurely declared victory at the Democrats’ watch party Tuesday night, even as he acknowledged the possibility of a recount. Gainey, the GOP nominee, was appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis to the job when the incumbent resigned.
There hasn’t been a Republican elected sheriff in Alachua County – one of Florida’s most reliably Democratic strongholds – in two decades.
Gainey spent nearly three times as much money – $224,950 – as Scott did on his campaign, including more than $185,000 on advertising and campaign signs and T-shirts. Gainey raised about 40% of his campaign money from donors outside Alachua County.
The Alachua County canvassing board expected Thursday to begin sifting through unofficial returns, including all votes cast and an estimated 300 provisional ballots, to confirm the 395-vote difference.
These provisional ballots, given to those at polling sites whose registration status or identity is questioned, could change the outcome of the race, said Aaron Klein, spokesman for the Alachua County Supervisor of Elections Office.
“That could change the margin in some way,” he said.
After canvassing votes, if the 0.29% margin returns the same, a machine recount will occur. If it’s a margin of less than 0.25%, a manual recount will occur, which is much more labor intensive, Klein said.
If a recount happens, as expected, the board will have until nine days after Election Day, or Nov. 14, to certify results.
“We have to go in expecting the recount will take place,” Klein said. “We’re already taking preparations, we’re notifying the candidates in the contest and making sure we have staff coverage over the weekend.”
A recount hasn’t occurred in Alachua County since 2020, when a machine recount was issued for a county referendum with a difference of 0.2% – 265 votes.
The third-party candidate in the sheriff’s race, Pamela Marshall-Koons, ran as non-partisan and received 6.37% of the vote, or 8,497 votes.
Despite her loss, she declined to endorse either Gainey or Scott, saying they both fail to understand issues of mental illness in people who encounter law enforcement officers.
“We still do not have anyone that understands that taxpayers are paying way more to house those with mental illness than it would cost us as taxpayers if we had the proper facilities for people to be in,” Marshall-Koons said.
She said she will respect the outcome of the race, whoever wins.
“When people vote, they vote what they want, so I truly have to respect that,” she said.
No other races in Alachua County were close enough to possibly require a recount.
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