Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., has been on a nearly weeklong Twitter meltdown about the possibility that attempts to make sure every vote is counted in Florida might result in Republicans losing that state's governor and United States Senate races.
This article was originally published at Salon
Since Thursday, he has posted a whopping 68 tweets on the subject, as seen below.
Long but IMPORTANT THREAT ON ELECTIONS IN #FLORIDA.#BayCounty was hit by a Cat 4 Hurricane just 4 weeks ago,yet managed to count votes & submit timely results.
Yet over 41 hours after polls closed #Broward elections office is still counting votes? #Sayfie
1/6
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 8, 2018
#Broward supervisor:
- says she doesn’t know how many ballots are left to be counted; &
- Isn’t reporting hourly or regularly,but rather releasing thousands of additional votes,often in the overnight hours,that are chipping away at GOP leads
2/6 #Sayfie
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 8, 2018
Now democrat lawyers are descending on #Florida. They have been very clear they aren’t here to make sure every vote is counted.
- They are here to change the results of election; &
- #Broward is where they plan to do it.#Sayfie
4/6
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 8, 2018
A U.S. Senate seat & a statewide cabinet officer are now potentially in the hands of an elections supervisor with a history of incompetence & of blatant violations of state & federal laws.
Read Here: https://t.co/empQvOOgEb
5/6#Sayfie
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 8, 2018
#Broward election supervisors ongoing violation of #Florida law requiring timely reporting isn’t just annoying incompetence. It has opened the door for lawyers to come here & try to steal a seat in the U.S. Senate & Florida Cabinet
6/6
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 8, 2018
Latest ballots dumped by #Broward &/or #PalmBeach flipped Ag Comm race to Dem & shaved another 4k+ from Scott’s lead in Senate race
Since 3am Wed slow drip from these 2 Dem controlled counties cut Scott lead from 54 to 17K. And they refuse to disclose # of ballots they have left pic.twitter.com/2K8hR4D2P2
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 8, 2018
According to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, these two blue bins,circled in the attached picture,hold the ballots that remain to be counted in #BrowardCounty as of 4:20pm this afternoon. Almost 48 hours after the polls closed. pic.twitter.com/EJxJYxq9XG
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 8, 2018
What’s happening in #BrowardCounty happened just last August,albeit on a smaller scale.
9000 votes arrived in mail just before 7pm Election Day. Few days later incumbent school board member avoids runoff against @rpetty & a judge won by just 400 votes https://t.co/zUn7JszUMg
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 8, 2018
This video,posted by an Independent Cong candidate in 18 (who was endorsed by Bernie Sanders in 16) purports to show BrowardCounty ballots being transported from polling places in private cars.
Has anyone in local media looked into this claim or asked elections dept about it? https://t.co/1JztfdRudn
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 9, 2018
When did I ask anyone to stop counting? And how is criticizing repeated election failures by same election official a fight to stop vote counting?
Why can’t #BrowardCounty elections do what 65 of 67 counties did, count all votes in timely way & in compliance with #Florida law? https://t.co/dtujSqotYG
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 9, 2018
Every vote legally cast should be counted. That’s the law
Have no problem with recounts. That’s the law.
But last early votes were cast Sunday & had to be submitted by Tue evening. That the law too.
Yet 48 hours after deadline #BrowardCounty is only county still counting them
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 9, 2018
The incompetence of & the violation of #Florida reporting requirements by #BrowardCounty elections dept could impact more than just the outcome
The last thing our already dangerously divided nation needs is an important election 1/2 our people believe was rigged by the other 1/2
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 9, 2018
Under #Florida law county must upload by 7 p.m. day BEFORE election ALL early votes canvassed & tabulated by end of early voting & report results within 30 minutes of polls close
60 hours after that deadline only 1 of 67 counties is still counting early votes, #BrowardCounty pic.twitter.com/oP7HdpZcTk
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 9, 2018
Early Voting in #BrowardCounty ended 108 hours ago. Every other county,including neighboring Miami-Dade (which had 100k more votes cast) was able to canvass,tabulate & report to state by deadline. But #Broward still hasn’t finished & won’t disclose how many ballots are left.
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 9, 2018
How can anyone have confidence that the #BrowardCounty election supervisor will be fair when last night she made clear her personal animus toward Gov. Scott & towards the states top law enforcement agency when she claimed he “owns” the #Florida Department of Law Enforcement? https://t.co/K1lrwzRcnE
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 9, 2018
Not very comforting to #Florida voters that #BrowardCounty supervisor,in whose hands may rest outcome of Senate & cabinet race has in the past:
1. Illegally destroyed ballots
2. Secretly opened mail ballots
3. Sent voters too many ballot pages
4. Left const question off ballot
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 9, 2018
Fair question.
No one is asking them to stop counting votes.
I am asking them to:
1. disclose how many ballots they have in their possession which still have to be canvassed & tabulated; &
2. Submit tabulated ballots to Dept. of State every 45 minutes as required by law. https://t.co/ocMXlcgXIT
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 9, 2018
AFTERNOON UPDATE on #BrowardElections in the thread below:
Some partisans continue trying to portray what is happening in #BrowardCounty as normal & criticism of it as effort to stop vote counting.
This is an effort to deflect attention away from highly irregular conduct 1/4
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 9, 2018
Conduct of #BrowardElections office is in blatant violation of state law.
1. No early votes have been cast since Sunday. They had 2 days to tabulate them & submit to state by 7:30pm Tuesday as required by law. Yet as of latest update these are still only partially completed 2/4 pic.twitter.com/mmzJVZ6H5H
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 9, 2018
2. In addition,they are required by state law to submit results every 45 minutes. The last update from them was over 20 hours ago.
3. Every ballot they receive has to be logged. Why have they consistently refused to disclose how many they have left to canvass & count? 3/4
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 9, 2018
If #BrowardElections has some legitimate reason for why they have been unable to tabulate & report ballots they have had since Sunday night,like every other county did,they should disclose it. Instead they continue to operate under an indefensible shroud of secrecy. 4/4
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 9, 2018
How can anyone excuse #BrowardElections blanket refusal to reveal the number of ballots cast,counted & left to be counted? Knowing how many ballots they have in their possession is one of the most important things they are required to keep track of.
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 9, 2018
A new & troubling allegation has emerged. A statement under penalty of perjury that #PalmBeachCounty filled out new ballots to replace damaged ones without allowing campaign representative to witness the process of creating the new ballot as required by #Florida law
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 9, 2018
For those who continue to claim #BrowardCounty is in compliance with early vote reporting laws here is the state report as of 8:12pm Friday. 5 days after last early vote was cast they remain ONLY county which still has not completed its early vote count https://t.co/dSoidpqcRg
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 10, 2018
It is not unusual for a county to continue to report updated vote counts until 1st report due Saturday
What’s unusual(& violation of law)is refusing to report updated votes every 45 minutes,refusing to disclose # of ballots received & taking 5+ days to complete early vote count
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 10, 2018
Frederica we have worked together for over a decade. Which is why this statement is so disappointing.
Respectfully,can you show me where I have asked them to stop counting votes?
All I asked is that Broward comply with the law. Laws a judge today found they were violating https://t.co/BhxXgmHwGo
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 10, 2018
How can anyone defend this lawlessness?
Court orders #PalmBeachCounty Elections Dept. to follow law & submit “over-voted” & “under-voted” mail ballots for an open & public review before they are counted
They are refusing to comply with the court orderhttps://t.co/faBLokHJTV
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 10, 2018
Want more lawlessness?#BrowardCounty elections opened 208 provisional ballots without canvassing boards approval as required by law
After admitting error submitted them to board which found at least 12 are invalid
Guess what? They are going to count all 208 of them anyway
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 10, 2018
Many of the same people in media & commentary class who are always warning about “threats to our democracy” are excusing or deflecting attention from the blatant lawlessness in #Broward & #PalmBeach undermining the credibility of & public confidence in our elections 1/3
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 10, 2018
They make straw man argument that we must “Count Every Vote”
They say we are misrepresenting #Florida law,even though 2 separate judges today found violations
They say claim of past misconduct by #BrowardCounty is unfounded even though ignoring years of local media coverage 2/3
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 10, 2018
If a “Red County” did what #BrowardCounty & #PalmBeachCounty are doing, they would march in the streets & confront Republicans about it in restaurants
But because it’s happening in a “Blue County” they create increasingly novel & creative arguments to justify it. 3/3
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 10, 2018
Maybe this box found this morning has office supplies in it. But if it contains just a single vote, it should have been handled in accordance with the law, NO MATTER WHO IT WAS A VOTE FOR. pic.twitter.com/lfZ2Up6UDW
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 10, 2018
#BrowardElections office admits the vote count they submitted to state includes 22 illegal votes.
We know about these 22 because they got caught breaking law in reviewing 202 ballots. How can anyone trust more illegal votes aren’ in their final count?https://t.co/DiLApbnGbx
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 10, 2018
#Florida mandates machine recount in close races & are generally straightforward
However subsequent manual recount of “over votes” & “under votes” must be transparent. Because that’s when lawyers change outcome by getting certain votes counted or rejected https://t.co/4JVJaol1XQ
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 10, 2018
Wanted to take a moment & recognize the excellent work of local television & newspaper reporters covering #FloridaElection.
The election controversy is a prime example of why local outlets are so important. They have the experience to provide proper context to readers & viewers
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 10, 2018
How will our nation peacefully settle its political differences if elections lose their credibility because of lawlessness?
That’s why what your friend says happened to her is unacceptable
And why irregularities in Broward & Palm Beach is about more than just outcome of 3 races https://t.co/ZzUD7ZsXAt
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 10, 2018
The “demographics” of #PalmBeach voters is Americans & Floridians.
“Unfortunate” is your refusal to count their votes in accordance with the law.
And you are “disrupting” our democracy by violating laws,refusing to comply with court order & threatening to have media arrested. https://t.co/H9gjrvVeDD
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 10, 2018
Miami Dade is a county Democrats win big. But you don’t see anyone freaking out about their election department. Because so far they have processed more ballots than #BrowardCounty elections dept & did so in a timely, competent & law abiding way. https://t.co/JAmODBY9wJ
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 10, 2018
I don’t believe ballot design will turn out to be a determining factor.
But how ironic would it be if those who are now bashing our criticism of Snipes in the end wind up arguing that a ballot design error made by her is the reason the Democrats lost?https://t.co/NAEUu1GhLY
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 10, 2018
Wrong. It is the #BrowardCounty canvassing board that claims her vote is illegal, not me.
If what your reporting found is accurate, then you have confirmed what I have been saying, that we have ample reason to carefully scrutinize the actions of the BrowardElection supervisor. https://t.co/Rwei3HG03n
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 12, 2018
Incompetent law breaking election officials lead to chance for lawyers to steal an election
Dem lawyers aren’t here to make sure every vote is counted. They’re here to get as many votes for their client as possible counted & get as many votes for opponent as possible thrown out
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 13, 2018
#BrowardCounty & #PalmBeachCounty are headed towards being only counties to not make deadline for machine recount
Potentially deliberate effort to delay final count hoping a judge will order domestic vote by mail received after 7pm #ElectionDay counted, in violation of state law
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 13, 2018
Left wing commentators have no shame just making things up.
This piece is a work of fiction. No one is stopping #Florida recount. Only thing we ask is they follow the law
Be transparent. Report updated votes every 45 minutes. Finish recount by deadline https://t.co/Ik3YJh8mg1
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 13, 2018
Deadline for recount is Thursday. #PalmBeach already said they won’t make it. #BrowardCounty just started recount today,3 days after most every other county & will probably miss as well. Demanding they follow law isn’t effort to stop vote count,its effort to stop law breaking
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 13, 2018
No fraud?
Fine. Then what is the right word for Broward submitting vote totals that include ballots disqualified by canvassing board (as reported by @MiamiHerald)?
Or Palm Beach illegally making duplicate ballots without submitting to canvassing board?https://t.co/u3i1m6ZNKB
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 13, 2018
The same people who are quick to use the term “Voter Suppression” to describe everything from Voter ID to closing early voting sites on time, are also quick to condemn as hyperbole & baseless criticism of blatant & rampant election irregularities & violations of election laws
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 13, 2018
Imagine if NFL team was trailing 24-22 but in final seconds hits a 3 pt kick to win. Then AFTER game lawyers for losing team get a judge to order rules changed so that last second field goals are only 1 point
Well that’s how democrat lawyers plan to steal #Florida election 1/4
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 14, 2018
For example, #Florida law requires that the voter signatures on mail ballots match the signature of the voter.
But Dem lawyers are asking a judge to throw that law out & force Florida to count ballots with signatures that don’t match the voter signature on file. 2/4
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 14, 2018
#Florida law requires a manual recount of “undervotes” in close races & provides a clear standard for determining whether a voter intended to vote for a candidate.
Now Dem lawyers want a judge to order Florida to ignore this intent standard when reviewing “undervotes” 3/4
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 14, 2018
In short, Dem lawyers came to Florida to get judges to change Florida elections laws, AFTER the election. That isn’t a strategy to win an election, that is a strategy to steal an election. 4/4
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 14, 2018
What is crooked cannot be made straight,and you cannot count what is not there. Ecclesiastes 1:15
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 14, 2018
More ominously, the Republican Party has also resorted to using the same mob tactics used by the GOP during the 2000 presidential election, when the difference between Republican George W. Bush and Democrat Al Gore winning boiled down to the electoral votes of the Sunshine State. While Rubio may not be directly involved in stirring up those intimidation tactics, his attempts to delegitimize the election on Twitter is very much a part of the same approach.
"My very first US investigative report was published by Salon in 2000 about the theft of the vote in Florida, then still in progress," journalist Greg Palast told Salon by email. "2018 and the photos are nearly identical to 2000 — GOP bullies trying to stop the vote count (in 2000, a riot by GOP operatives in the Miami-Dade elections office successfully shut down the vote). In 2018, menacing crowds supporting the GOP are chanting "Stop the Count!" the exact phrase the GOP chanted in 2000. And in 2018, Democratic demonstrators are chanting, "Count all the votes! Count all the votes" - the exact same (failed) chant from 2000."
He added, "In 2000, Democrats were calling for all votes to be counted - no games, no disqualifying ballots for 'hanging chads' or other gimmicks. The Republicans were adamant, led by Governor Jeb Bush and his Secretary of State Katherine Harris: don’t count all votes. In the end a whopping 178,000 ballots were disqualified — and George W. Bush won Florida and the US presidency by just 537 votes."
