A federal judge dismissed on November 9 the emergency request filed by Democratic candidate Eliott Rodríguez to prevent Alina García, the Miami-Dade Elections Supervisor, from participating in the vote recount for the closely contested District 27 race in Florida, where Republican Congresswoman María Elvira Salazar holds a narrow lead.
The decision was announced at approximately 9:37 a.m., just 23 minutes before the start of the automatic recount, scheduled for 10:00 a.m. at the Miami-Dade election headquarters in Doral, as reported by Telemundo 51.
The ruling allows García to remain on the Counting Board responsible for overseeing the process, despite Rodríguez's objections regarding his impartiality and a purported family conflict of interest.
According to WSVN 7News, federal judge David S. Leibowitz found the statements attributed to García regarding Salazar's victory questionable, but noted that the official cannot unilaterally decide which votes are counted.
The magistrate emphasized that the Board of Scrutiny is also made up of two impartial state judges, a factor he considered when rejecting the request to exclude it from the recount.
The controversy over Alina García's participation
The Democratic campaign had requested the removal of García on November 5, questioning the official's statements about the electoral outcome before the counting was complete.
According to the claim submitted by her lawyers, García had stated to the Miami Herald that Salazar would win regardless of the recount, a statement that Rodríguez's team deemed incompatible with the neutrality required of electoral officials.
The campaign also noted that Robert Fernández, the attorney representing Salazar in the proceedings, is García's son-in-law. His representatives argue that this relationship raises questions about the impartiality of the decisions made by the Board of Scrutiny.
García previously rejected the accusations and claimed that there was no conflict to justify her removal. Fernández also denied that his involvement compromised the transparency of the process.
The controversy reached federal courts on November 6, when Rodríguez filed a lawsuit against García, with Salazar included in the legal proceedings.
Salazar holds a lead of 1,090 votes
The latest available preliminary results place Salazar at 124,528 votes, equivalent to 50.22%, against Rodríguez's 123,438 votes, which represent 49.78%.
The difference of 1,090 votes, approximately 0.44%, is below the 0.5% threshold established by Florida law to mandate an automatic recount using machines.
Salazar declared herself the winner during the electoral night of November 3, while Rodríguez has insisted on waiting for the conclusion of the counting process before acknowledging a definitive result.
The electoral authorities have until November 12 to present the results of the automatic recount. If the difference is reduced to 0.25% or less, a manual recount could be triggered according to state law.
Until the conclusion of the proceedings and the corresponding certification, the contest remains without an official winner.
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