Allen West’s dogged pursuit of justice in the tallying of the vote for his reelection is starting to pay dividends. After West and his attorneys at the firm of Holtzman, Vogel, Josefiak filed suit against Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner, Detzner sent state election auditors into the state’s 18th Congressional District to investigate the results. As of now, Democratic challenger Patrick Murphy leads by 1,907 votes, which is a larger margin than the state allows for a recount, but the suspicious nature of what has already been discovered leaves Detzner less room to wiggle free.
Officials in St. Lucie County who recounted three days of early voting – the period between Nov. 1 to Nov. 3, found that West reportedly gained 132 votes and Murphy lost 667, a difference of 799 votes, although the West campaign claims the vote margin changed was closer to 1,000.
Detzner ordered three state officials to go to St. Lucie County. In response, West’s attorneys wrote to Detzner, “We applaud your decision to exercise your authority to send auditors to St. Lucie County to examine election returns and the ballot-counting process.”
West wants the full eight days of voting to be recounted, and his lawsuit requests that Florida postpone certifying the district-wide tally until the recount is complete. Martin and Palm Beach counties are other counties in West’s district which haven’t been recounted yet.
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