Rick Scott clings to a lead over Bill Nelson during a statewide recount of their nationally relevant U.S. Senate contest. Scott has presented no evidence to back up his fraud allegations, and the Department of State has said its elections monitors have uncovered no criminal behavior.  Broward Supervisor of Elections Brenda Snipes, left, and judge Betsy Benson of the election canvassing board, listen to arguments, Sunday, Nov. 11, 2018, at the Broward Supervisor of Elections office... (Associated Press) 
 
 Broward Supervisor of Elections Brenda Snipes, left, and judge Betsy Benson of the election canvassing board, listen to arguments, Sunday, Nov. 11, 2018, at the Broward Supervisor of Elections office in Lauderhill, Fla. (Joe Cavaretta /South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP) (Associated Press) 
 
 FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Mishaps, protests and litigation are overshadowing the vote recount in Florida's pivotal races for governor and Senate, reviving memories of the 2000 presidential fiasco in the premier political battleground state. State officials said they weren't aware of any other time a race for governor or U.S. Senate required a recount, let alone both in the same election. Recounts were also ordered in contests for governor and commissioner of agriculture due to a state law that requires a machine recount for any statewide election decided by a half of a percentage point or less. Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, left, and Republican Gov. Rick Scott, the Republican candidate for Senate, filed suit against Snipes. Many other counties were expected to begin the work Monday after a weekend of recount drama in Broward and Palm Beach counties, home to large concentrations of Democratic voters. In Broward County, the recount was delayed for hours Sunday because of a problem with one of the tabulation machines. The Palm Beach Post reported that Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Susan Bucher warned this weekend that Thursday’s deadline will be “impossible” to meet, presenting the possibility that her unofficial results provided to the state on Saturday will stand. “The governor is using his position to consolidate power by cutting at the very core of our democracy.” 
 
 But missteps by Bucher and Snipes, at the very least, have opened the door to warranted skepticism. While former congressman Ron DeSantis is far enough ahead of Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum that a hand recount is unlikely to occur in the race for governor, Scott and Nelson are expecting to continue fighting on into the weekend. Scott on Sunday seemed to soften his allegations of fraud after he was criticized when he asked the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to investigate Snipes and Bucher. Snipes remains adamant that she has done nothing wrong, and defiant in the face of criticism.
– With an unprecedented double recount underway in Florida, Gov. Rick Scott is fighting to get state police involved. The Republican governor—who is clinging to a slim lead in his Senate race with Democratic rival Bill Nelson—filed lawsuits Sunday calling for elections officials in Palm Beach and Broward counties to turn ballots, voting machines, and vote-counting machines over to law enforcement at times when votes aren't being counted, reports Reuters. Scott has claimed that "unethical liberals" in the two heavily Democratic counties are trying to steal the election, in which he currently has a lead of just 12,562 votes over Nelson, the Miami Herald reports. One of Scott's lawsuits warned that Broward Supervisor of Elections Brenda Snipes could "destroy evidence of any errors, accidents, or unlawful conduct" if she had "unsupervised, unaccountable, and unfettered access to the ballot boxes." Florida Democrats reacted angrily, calling the move to involve police an "abuse of power," the Herald reports. State police and election officials say they have found no evidence of fraud, though protesters, some of them holding pro-Trump signs or chanting "Lock her up," still gathered outside Snipes' office on Sunday, the AP reports. A recount is also happening in the governor's race. (Palm Beach County officials say it will be "impossible" to meet the Thursday recount deadline.)