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Rick Scott's campaign announces 3 more lawsuits

Posted at 4:09 PM, Nov 11, 2018
and last updated 2018-11-12 12:14:37-05

(CNN) -- Florida Republican Gov. Rick Scott is filing three lawsuits against county election officials as a recount has gotten underway in the Senate contest between himself and Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson.

In the first complaint, the Scott campaign alleges Broward County Supervisor of Elections Brenda Snipes counted a certain number of ballots after the Saturday noon deadline. The campaign announced it is filing two other lawsuits against Snipes and Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Susan Buchner, requesting voting tabulation equipment be impounded after the machine recount is completed. The lawsuits also request both supervisors be required to preserve all ballots and records connected with the 2018 election.

The initial count in the race had Scott ahead by a small margin -- enough to trigger a recount according state law.

As the recount began, tensions across the state escalated, with candidates, activists and lawyers weighing in and taking issue with the process for the Senate, governor and state agriculture commissioner contests.

Scott and President Donald Trump have leveled a raft of serious accusations against Democrats in the state, while Nelson, in turn, said he believes "when every legal ballot is counted," he would win.

On Friday, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement said it was not investigating anything related to the election after the Florida Department of State said there were no allegations of criminal activity.

Sunday's complaints from the Scott campaign add to the litigation piling up less than a week after Election Day as both sides battle it out for the Senate seat.

Nelson's team filed a lawsuit on Friday against the Florida GOP secretary of state, and Scott announced a pair of lawsuits with the National Republican Senatorial Committee last Thursday against both Snipes and Bucher. On Friday, Scott and the NRSC won the suits, meaning election supervisors must comply with Scott's requests for certain vote-related information.

The-CNN-Wire
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