Gov. Rick Scott said he’s satisfied with the results of the highly contested Congressional District 18 contest that U.S. Rep. Allen West conceded two weeks after the general election.

“That’s what all the numbers show,” Scott said.

But, while the governor and other members of the state Election Commission accepted the unofficial results from St. Lucie County as they certified the rest of the state results on Tuesday, Scott expressed “disappointment” with the reports of long lines, broken tabulating machines, incorrect ballots, misplaced ballots and other problems that cropped up throughout the process.

“My goal is to have honest and fair elections,” Scott said after signing off on the election results, reiterating that he awaits a report from Secretary of State Ken Detzner on how the state can address the fiascos the media gleefully highlighted throughout the election.

Detzner said he has already formed a team to meet with supervisors of elections from Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties, to address why people waited hours to vote during early voting and on Election Day.  

From there, he will meet with other supervisors and voters to discuss the election and how the process could be improved.

But any recommendations may not be ready to be placed on the governor’s desk until after the new year.

“I’m not one to fix fault, I’m a problem solver. We’re going to look at what we need to fix the issues, whether it is an appropriation from the local governments or a suggestion from the state government, clearly people waiting in line is not an acceptable standard for our elections process,” Detzner said. “I don’t afix blame, I’m looking for solutions.”


Reach Jim Turner at jturner@sunshinestatenews.com or at (772) 215-9889.