Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick grows lead to 5 votes over Dale Holness after recount

Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick and Dale Holness sat alone in the Broward elections office as a manual recount began, their two chairs spaced more feet apart than the number of votes separating them.

They watched as their attorneys and Broward County elections officials completed a manual recount in the razor-thin Democratic primary to replace longtime U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings, who died in April. Cherfilus-McCormick, a healthcare executive, ended the recount with a five-vote lead over Holness, a Broward County commissioner. There were slightly more than 49,000 votes cast in the election for 11 candidates. Cherfilus-McCormick has 11,662 votes to Holness’ 11,657 votes.

But the race isn’t over yet.

After Broward and Palm Beach counties completed machine and manual recounts on Friday, outstanding overseas and military ballots still need to be counted, which could affect the final result. Overseas and military ballots that are postmarked by Election Day will be accepted if they arrive by Nov. 12.

Once the state approved a manual recount, only overvotes and undervotes were taken into consideration by the Broward and Palm Beach county elections offices. Overvotes are votes that appear to check off more than one candidate, and undervotes are votes that appear to check off no candidates.

The winner of the Democratic primary is almost certain to get elected to Congress after a January general election in Florida’s 20th Congressional District, which contains majority Black portions of Broward and Palm Beach counties. Holness or Cherfilus-McCormick will face a slate of minor candidates, and Republican nominee Jason Mariner’s candidacy is in limbo after he did not go through the state’s process to restore his civil rights after imprisonment.

Holness or Cherfilus-McCormick could face voters again in as little as nine months, with the 2022 Democratic primary scheduled for August.

After the machine recount on Friday morning, where ballots were re-fed into vote counting machines, there was a slight change in Broward County. Cherfilus-McCormick lost one vote, reducing her lead over Holness to two votes. Palm Beach County’s results were unchanged after the machine recount.

Holness personally questioned rejected ballots during the recount.

“Lawyers are there to advise and guide you. But the case is yours,” said Holness, about his role in questioning rejected ballots. “The case is mine on behalf of the people that have cast their ballots. And in Broward County you saw the large difference in the votes that I got compared to anyone else. So part of what I have to do is protect their voice.”

Minutes later, Cherfilus-McCormick regained her three-vote lead heading into the manual recount after Broward officials ruled that the potential undervote was a valid vote for Cherfilus-McCormick. After the manual recounts were completed in both counties, Cherfilus-McCormick’s lead grew to five votes.

At one point during the manual recount, Broward County Judge and canvassing board chair Deborah Carpenter-Toye reminded campaign representatives to stand in their designated areas, prompting Holness and Cherfilus-McCormick to stand up and begin to walk away, thinking that they were violating the rules. Carpenter-Toye laughed and told them they were mistaken. They could continue to sit in the center of the room.

The Broward and Palm Beach election boards will now meet next Friday, Nov. 12, to count any outstanding ballots before final results are sent to the state.

Holness built a large lead among voters in Broward County, which accounts for about 75% of the district’s voters. But Cherfilus-McCormick won Palm Beach County and performed better in Broward County than Holness did in Palm Beach, which led to the race’s virtual tie.

And if the race finishes in an actual tie? Florida law says that both candidates will draw lots to determine who wins.

Miami Herald news partner and WLRN reporter Danny Rivero contributed to this report.

This story was originally published November 5, 2021 at 5:11 PM.