Trump wants Florida to stop counting votes, potentially excluding military ballots

AP Photo/Evan Vucci

President Donald Trump

• President Donald Trump on Monday called on Florida to stop counting voters and declare Rick Scott and Ron DeSantis as the winners of the gubernatorial and US Senate races in the state.
• Florida accepts mail-in ballots from overseas and military voters up until November 16 as long as they were postmarked by Election Day, which was November 6.
• Florida is once again the epicenter of post-Election Day drama with unclear results in multiple races.
• The Florida secretary of state on Saturday ordered recounts in the races for US Senate, governor, and the state agricultural commission.

President Donald Trump on Monday called on Florida to stop counting votes and declare Rick Scott and Ron DeSantis as the winners of the gubernatorial and US Senate races in the state. But if Florida stopped counting votes now, it would potentially exclude ballots from overseas and military voters.

Trump on Monday tweeted, "The Florida Election should be called in favor of Rick Scott and Ron DeSantis in that large numbers of new ballots showed up out of nowhere, and many ballots are missing or forged. An honest vote count is no longer possible-ballots massively infected. Must go with Election Night!"

Read more: Trump says 'honest' election no longer possible in Florida, demands election be called for Republicans

Florida accepts mail-in ballots from overseas and military voters up until November 16 as long as they were postmarked by Election Day, which was November 6. If Florida listened to Trump, some of these voters could effectively be disenfranchised.

Moreover, despite Trump's repeated suggestions of nefarious activities surrounding elections in Florida, there is currently no evidence of voter fraud on any level in the Sunshine State.

Read more: Three recounts, baseless voter fraud claims and mixed messages from candidates: Here's what's going on with the Florida elections

The Florida secretary of state on Saturday ordered recounts in the races for US Senate, governor, and the state agricultural commission.

Initially, it seemed the respective Republican candidates for US Senate and governor had both won, but as more votes came in, the margins of victory became narrow enough to trigger a recount. This is not entirely irregular, and Florida has an infamous history of electoral chaos, but the president and others have continued to make baseless voter fraud claims.