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Two weeks later, Florida to certify November election results

By Jim Turner
Published  November 17, 2020 5:37am EST
Florida
The News Service of Florida

Election supervisor explains how Florida counted quickly

This year, elections officials and the governor said Florida shined bright on Election Day after years in the shadows of the 2000 presidential recount and issues in South Florida during the 2018 elections.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - While some states are still counting ballots, the Sunshine State will certify the results of the 2020 election on Tuesday.

Two weeks after Election Day, there are no lawsuits or drama surrounding the certification process. President Donald Trump carried the state, winning by more than 370,000 votes out of 11 million ballots cast.

Approximately 5.6 million people cast their vote for Trump in Florida and 5.2 million voted for former Vice President Joe Biden. It was a record voter turnout.

The GOP picked up two U.S. congressional seats, and five seats in the Florida House of Representatives. 

PREVIOUS: How President Trump won Florida vote by larger margin than 2016

Election officials said it's not an accident the election ran smoothly in Florida.

“We put in a lot of hard work, planning, and actually trying to predict what kind of scenarios we might have," said Mark Early, Leon County Supervisor of Elections. "We put in the contingencies and got all that stuff in place so that it would be a success and go very smoothly.”

In Florida, mail-in ballots and early voting are counted ahead of time then posted as soon as polls close. But as the nation saw from Election Day, some states had to wait  to start counting everything, so results take longer to report.

It’s good news for Florida’s reputation after years in the shadows of elections problems in 2000 and 2018.

RELATED:  Florida officials claim redemption from state's troubled Election Day history

The state legislature will remain dominated by Republicans for the next two years with the GOP holding a 24-16 advantage in the Florida Senate. The advantage in the Florida House of Representatives is even greater with Republicans holding a 78-42 advantage among 120 representatives.