Scott to recuse himself from certifying Florida election results

Gov. Rick Scott (R) will step down from the Florida Elections Canvassing Commission, according to the Tampa Bay Times. 

The commission is responsible for certifying each federal, state and multi-county election. Scott’s decision to leave means he will not have to certify the results of his own race for Senate.

Scott’s lawyer told U.S. District Judge Mark Walker that the governor plans to recuse himself from the process just like he did in 2014.

{mosads}Normally the commission consists of Scott and two members of the Cabinet that he chooses.

In 2014, since all three members of the commission were up for election, he appointed then-state Senate President Don Gaetz, Sen. Rob Bradley and Sen. Kelli Stargel to certify results.

The League of Women Voters of Florida and Common Cause Florida filed a lawsuit Monday seeking for Scott to be removed from the certification committee, claiming that he had undue power over election results.

“In light of the pervasive opportunities for the Defendant Scott to improperly exercise power over the U.S. Senate race, his continued interventions in the race violate the basic notion of fairness that no man should be a judge in his own cause,” they wrote. 

The race between Scott and Incumbent Sen. Bill Nelson (D) is set to be recounted by machines because the governor currently leads by roughly 12,500 votes, or about 0.15 percentage point. If the machine recount determines the margin in the race to be within 0.25 percentage point, a by-hand recount will be triggered.