Talk about a ridiculous waste of time and money.
Republicans in Lake County are calling for an Arizona-style audit of Florida’s 2020 election in a pointless attempt to see whether President Donald Trump — who won Florida in 2020 — actually won the state by a larger margin.
Trump got 51% of the vote, considered a blowout in a narrow-margin state like this one.
But that hasn’t deterred the Lake County Republican Executive Committee, which — according to the Orlando Sentinel — is pushing for an audit, claiming that a “majority” of citizens doubt that the Nov. 3 election was fair and also doubt the results in Lake County, the state and the country.
That must come as quite a shock to Florida’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, who has loudly proclaimed that election was a huge success — under his leadership, mind you —that it should be held up as an example on how to handle elections.
“People are actually looking at Florida and asking the question, ‘Why can’t the states be more like Florida? Florida was able to handle 11 million ballots,’” he said, during a Nov. 4 news conference. “The way Florida did it, I think, inspires confidence. I think that’s how elections should be run.”
He went even further, bragging that, “Perhaps 2020 was the year that we finally vanquished the ghosts of Bush vs. Gore.”
And as recently as July, as the Orlando Sentinel reported, Secretary of State Laurel Lee, a Republican, insisted the state’s election went just fine.
“Florida’s election in 2020 was accurate, transparent and conducted in compliance with Florida law,” Lee said. “Florida has already conducted both pre- and post-elections audits, and we are confident in the security and integrity of our 2020 election results. ... The post-election audit confirmed that Florida’s 2020 election was secure and accurate.”
All of this is, of course, just an echo of what Trump has been saying as he continues to float the idea of another run for president. But DeSantis — who is exceedingly good at ignoring what he doesn’t like — should squelch this silly idea from members of his party who don’t have the sense to quit while they’re ahead.
As the head of the state GOP and a possible contender for the White House, the governor should put a stop to this because it will bog down the state in a meaningless, time-consuming and expensive exercise that will further erode confidence in the electoral process.
We wish we could assume the idea of an audit in a state that Trump already won — by more than 371,000 votes — wouldn’t get any traction. But we no longer can assume that common sense will play any role in the politics of this state.
Gov. DeSantis, put an end to this farce. If you won’t do it because it’s absurd, then do it because you’ll be undermining the same electoral process that you said was conducted with integrity — and that you will rely upon for your own reelection campaign.
Otherwise, you’ll look like you didn’t know what you were talking about when you said it was fine — or that you’re just buckling to political pressure.
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