While it is a local race, this election has become the latest test of the nation's political mood nearly a year into President Donald Trump's second term. Trump and other big-name Florida Republicans, including Gov. Ron DeSantis and Sen. Rick Scott, have weighed in for the conservative candidate, former city manager Emilio Gonzalez, in the otherwise nonpartisan race. Nationally known Democrats, including former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, have offered support on behalf of Eileen Higgins, a Democrat who served on the county commission before winning a runoff spot last month.
Hand-counting millions of mail ballots would be unwieldy and create problems, Secretary of State Cord Byrd told state Rep. Meg Weinberger, a Palm Beach County Republican who raised the issue. Byrd said hand-counting would be less accurate than the electronic equipment Florida election supervisors use for tabulation. And, he said it would delay election results. At the same legislative hearing at which Byrd knocked down the notion of hand-counting ballots, he suggested he was readying a proposal that would provide something the MAGA movement wants.