Florida Democrat sues to block county election chief from recount in House race, alleging bias

By Brentin Mock

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WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 20: Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL) looks on during a news conference about the indictment of the former President of Cuba Raul Castro in the U.S. Capitol on May 20, 2026 in Washington, DC. Florida Republican lawmakers celebrated the indictment of Castro. (Photo by Heather Diehl/Getty Images)

A Democratic candidate for the U.S. House in Florida is suing to block Miami-Dade County’s elections chief from being involved in a recount in an ultra-close contest that will help determine the size of the party’s majority. 

Florida election authorities officially announced the recount on Saturday after tabulating that Eliott Rodriguez trailed U.S. Rep. María Elvira Salazar (R) by 1,090 votes, or 0.44% in the closely watched race in south Florida. 

By state law, any margin under 0.5% triggers an automatic machine recount, which would then be followed by a hand recount if the new margin fell within 0.25%.

But Rodriguez sued Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections Alina Garcia Saturday to block her from participating in any recounts. The lawsuit cites recent comments from Garcia appearing to favor Salazar in the race. 

Garcia said Salazar “is the winner, with or without a recount,” the Miami Herald reported.

“Plaintiff alleges that publicly announcing the result before any recount, while acknowledging that reversal remained possible, creates an objective risk of prejudgment by the decisionmaker herself,” Rodriguez’s complaint reads.

The lawsuit also claims that Garcia has a family member too close to the Salazar campaign for her to be impartial in recount proceedings. Garcia’s son-in-law, Robert Fernandez, is Salazar’s attorney.

The Rodriguez campaign sent a letter to Garcia Thursday demanding that she recuse herself from the canvassing board, but Garcia refused. 

Rodriguez is now asking a court to remove Garcia, claiming that her involvement in any recount violates his 14th Amendment due process rights.

Garcia, as the county’s elections chief, is part of the canvassing board responsible for overseeing any recounts. While the initial recount will be done by machine, the canvassing board makes decisions about whether signatures match on provisional and mail ballots, and whether voting machines have created tabulation errors. 

The machine recount must be completed by Thursday, Nov. 12, at 3 p.m. The state certifies its election results on Nov. 17.