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By: Nate Morris, Senior Editor
TALLAHASSEE, FL – The contentious governor’s race out of Florida which seemed to have ended with a victory for former GOP congressman and Trump enthusiast Ron DeSantis may not be over just yet.
At 1:15PM central time Thursday, news broke that Democrat Andrew Gillum, who conceded the race on Tuesday night, may have gained enough ground to force a recount under state law.
When Gillum conceded the race to DeSantis Tuesday night, he was behind by nearly 80,000 votes. However, as slow-to-report precincts sent in their results and additional absentee ballots were counted, DeSantis’s lead was cut in half.
Five precincts still have not reported from the heavily Democratic Miami-Dade county, as well as seven precincts from the reliably Republican Bay county, which was devastated by Hurricane Michael last month.
As of the article, Gillum trails DeSantis by fewer than 39,000, a margin of just 0.4798%. State law requires that a recount take place for any election where the margin of victory is at or below 0.5%.
The Gillum campaign has issued press releases calling for every vote to be counted, stating that the campaign, along with their attorney “is monitoring the situation closely and is ready for any outcome, including a state-mandated recount.”
“Mayor Gillum,” the statement went on, “started his campaign for the people, and we are committed to ensuring that every single vote in Florida is counted.”
Under Florida’s voter ID laws, any voter who did not have their ID on their person at the polling place was forced to fill out a provisional ballot. These voters have until 5PM to contact their election supervisor’s office in order for their vote to be counted.
The Gillum campaign put out an infographic on twitter, calling on supporters to spread the word and take action as necessary to ensure that their vote is heard in this ever-tightening election.
The graphic directs voters to the website dos.elections.myflorida.com/supervisors to find contact information for their election supervisor.
If elected, Andrew Gillum would be the first Black governor in Florida’s history.
The Black Wall Street Times is staying on top of this developing story. We will bring you updates as they become available.