Illustrative image; not a photograph of the District 27 recount.
The recount dispute in Florida’s 27th Congressional District has become a legal fight. On Friday, Democrat Eliott Rodriguez’s campaign filed a federal lawsuit seeking to prevent Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections Alina Garcia from taking part in ballot and recount decisions, arguing that her family’s ties to Republican incumbent María Elvira Salazar’s legal team create an objective risk of bias. Garcia’s office says she does not need to recuse herself.
The case is unfolding as the race moves toward an automatic machine recount. Salazar leads Rodriguez by 1,090 votes in the latest unofficial count, according to CBS Miami. That is down from a 1,116-vote margin reported Friday morning. A narrowing of 26 votes, as WSVN 7News reported.
Why the race is headed for a recount
Florida’s automatic machine recount threshold is a margin of 0.5% or less. The latest reported margin in the Salazar-Rodriguez contest is 0.44%, putting it within that threshold, according to CBS Miami and Florida Politics.
Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections Alina Garcia said Wednesday that the race “falls within Florida’s 0.50% threshold for an automatic machine recount.” She also described the process as transparent, saying “everything here is transparent, above board,” according to the Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections’ statements cited in local coverage.
Unofficial county returns were due to the state by noon Saturday, Nov. 7. Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd must officially order the machine recount, and the recount is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 10, at the Miami-Dade Elections Department, according to CBS Miami.
Across Miami-Dade, from urban neighborhoods to communities near the Everglades, the recount’s outcome remains pending. As of Saturday morning, the election-night result is still unofficial, and the recount has not yet taken place.
What Rodriguez’s lawsuit argues
Rodriguez’s complaint names Garcia and Salazar and asks a federal court to keep Garcia out of ballot and recount determinations in the congressional race, according to CBS Miami and WLRN. The lawsuit points to Garcia’s political affiliations, a photograph with Salazar, and the role of Garcia’s son-in-law, attorney Robert Fernandez, who is representing Salazar in the recount.
“The Supervisor’s participation as a voting member in the CD27 ballot and recount determinations presents a serious, objective risk of bias,” the complaint states, as quoted by CBS Miami.
The complaint also alleges that Garcia publicly declared Salazar the winner before the recount. On election night, Garcia told The Miami Herald, “María Elvira [Salazar] is the winner, with or without a recount,” according to the lawsuit as described in local reporting.
Alina Garcia, Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections. Photo via WLRN.
Garcia has said the photograph with Salazar was taken during a May 2025 visit to Washington. “I take pictures with whoever asks me for a picture,” she told CBS Miami.
Rodriguez’s attorney J.C. Planas likened the canvassing board’s role to a court proceeding. “If the relative of a judge walked into court as one of the attorneys for one of the sides, the judge would immediately recuse themselves,” Planas said, according to WSVN. He also argued the issue reaches beyond the immediate contest: “This is something that goes well beyond this election.”
Garcia’s office and Salazar’s campaign push back
The elections office says Garcia will not recuse herself and that no conflict requires her to step aside, WLRN reported. Fernandez has also rejected the conflict-of-interest claim. “There is no conflict of interest here,” he said, according to CBS Miami. “It is completely transparent. There are uniform guidelines to determine voters’ intent.”
Garcia’s daughter, Alyn Fernandez, also works at the law firm and was in the public viewing area during ballot review, CBS Miami reported. Fernandez said the process is open to observers and invited the public to watch.
Salazar and Garcia, in an image cited in the dispute. Photo via WLRN.
Salazar, in a statement reported by CBS Miami, accused Rodriguez of “behaving like an election denier.” She said he should allow the canvassing board and election workers to do their jobs and stop undermining public confidence because he does not like the current results.
The competing positions leave two questions in focus: whether Garcia will remain involved in the process, and whether the recount changes the current vote margin. The lawsuit challenges Garcia’s participation; it does not itself determine which candidate received more votes.
What happens next
The first procedural step is the state’s official order. The county’s unofficial returns were due by noon Saturday, and Byrd is responsible for ordering the machine recount, according to CBS Miami. The recount is scheduled for 10 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 10, at the Miami-Dade Elections Department. Local reports had not identified a court ruling on Rodriguez’s request as of Saturday morning.
The District 27 contest is not the only close South Florida race drawing attention. CBS Miami reported that a machine recount in Doral City Council Seat 2 is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 7, where incumbent Maureen Porras leads by 15 votes and has a legal team ready. Florida’s 26th Congressional District race between Mario Diaz-Balart and Democrat Jared Locklin, by contrast, remains outside the recount threshold with a margin of about 0.77%, according to the same coverage.
Rodriguez and Salazar are both former journalists, a detail noted by WSVN as their closely watched campaign moves from election returns into court. For now, the recount is scheduled, the lawsuit is pending, and the latest unofficial count still gives Salazar the lead.
