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Dems seek to overhaul voting rules in Florida legal fight  | TheHill

posted onNovember 17, 2018
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Article snippet: Democrats see a series of lawsuits in Florida’s bitter recount fight between Sen. MORE (D-Fla.) and Gov. Rick Scott (R) as an opportunity to achieve a years-long goal: reshaping how ballots are evaluated and counted in the nation’s largest swing state in 2020 and beyond. While most of the lawsuits are centered around the recount, some Democrats see the effort as a chance to change some of the standards governing how ballots are assessed in the Sunshine State, potentially widening the pool of countable votes. That could carry implications for future elections by forcing local and state officials to tally votes they otherwise would invalidate under current standards – an outcome they hope will improve their electoral chances in a must-win state known for its unpredictable politics. “A lot of these lawsuits might not even be primarily motivated by the Senate race. If you look across the board, it looks very unlikely that there are even enough ballots at play,” said Michael Morley, an assistant professor at the Florida State University College of Law. “Even if Sen. Nelson were to run the table and win all the lawsuits, I don’t think there are enough ballots here to change the outcome,” he added. “I think a lot of this is clearing the underbrush for the 2020 election.” To be sure, Democrats still see a win by Nelson as necessary in their bid to limit Republican gains in the Senate ahead of 2020, when the GOP is expected to face a less favorable electoral map. Scott c... Link to the full article to read more

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