The electoral dispute between María Elvira Salazar and Eliott Rodríguez for Florida's 27th district added a new chapter this Thursday: the Democratic candidate's campaign called for Alina García, the Miami-Dade election supervisor, to step down from the canvassing board and any potential recount of votes due to suspicions of bias and a possible family conflict of interest.
The application was formally submitted on November 5 by attorney Jason B. Blank from the law firm Haber Blank, in a letter addressed to Oren Rosenthal, legal advisor to the Office of the Supervisor of Elections.
Rodríguez's legal team bases its request on two issues: García's earlier statements regarding Salazar's victory and an alleged family connection between the official and a lawyer who is supposedly representing the Republican congresswoman during the recount.
The first objection points to statements made by García on election night, when he told the Miami Herald that María Elvira Salazar was the winner, regardless of whether a new count was conducted.
"María Elvira is the winner, with or without a recount," the official stated, according to the quote included in the legal complaint. The newspaper also reported that García considered it "possible, but not likely" that the pending votes would change the outcome.
"A candidate can declare themselves the winner. An election official responsible for the counting should act with greater caution," the letter states.
The document adds that the count should determine the outcome and not become a process aimed at confirming a preconceived conclusion.
They report a possible family connection with Salazar's team
The second objection raises a potential conflict of interest that, if confirmed, could complicate García's participation in the process.
According to information received by the Democratic campaign, Robert Fernández, a lawyer who allegedly represents María Elvira Salazar during the recount, is said to be the son-in-law of Alina García.
Rodríguez's representatives requested an immediate confirmation of that family relationship and of Fernández's role in the process.
However, the relationship and the involvement attributed to Fernández have not been independently confirmed in the submitted documentation.
They demand a written response
Rodríguez's legal team invoked section 102.141(1)(b) of Florida's election legislation, which provides for the appointment of a substitute when an elections supervisor is unable to perform their duties or becomes disqualified.
The provision states that if the election supervisor is disqualified, the chair of the County Commission must appoint one of its members as a replacement, while the supervisor retains only advisory functions before the counting board
The lawyers are demanding that García confirm in writing his withdrawal before the board reexamines the results of district 27. They are also requesting to identify the official who would take his place and clarify any advisory role he might retain.
"Voters deserve a fair count. They shouldn't have to wonder if the official overseeing it has already made up their mind about the outcome," Blank stated in the complaint.
The campaign emphasized that its goal is to ensure the transparency of the process and public trust in the results.
A choice decided by about 1,100 votes
According to the preliminary results from Miami-Dade consulted this Thursday, Salazar had garnered 124,511 votes (50.22%), compared to 123,408 (49.78%) for Rodríguez, a difference of just 1,103 votes.
On Wednesday, García had reported that the difference was at 0.46%, below the 0.50% threshold established by Florida law for triggering an automatic machine recount.
In an official statement, the supervisor explained that provisional ballots and mail-in votes with signature discrepancies were still under review.
The canvassing board is scheduled to meet again on Friday, November 6, while any recount ordered by the Florida Secretary of State would not begin before Saturday, November 7.
The initial difference between the two candidates had already decreased from approximately 1,325 votes recorded on election night.
Salazar, a Republican congresswoman of Cuban descent, seeks to retain the seat she has held since 2021, while Rodríguez, a former journalist and son of Cuban immigrants, .
There has been no public confirmation of a response from García to this new claim nor a decision regarding his potential removal.
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